Information processing apparatus, video conferencing system, and control method

Abstract

During a video conference, convey information to a specific person so that other people cannot understand it. 【Solution means】The information processing apparatus includes a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged on top of the plurality of display pixels, and controls the alignment state of the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lens to adjust the direction of light emitted from the plurality of display pixels, thereby controlling the display of a display capable of switching between a planar view display and a stereoscopic view display. The information processing apparatus includes an information acquisition unit that acquires information to be stereoscopically displayed, and a display control unit that controls the display to be in a planar view display and, when the information acquisition unit acquires information to be stereoscopically displayed, stereoscopically displays the acquired information in a part of the screen area of the display screen in a stereoscopic manner with respect to a designated position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a video conference system, and a control method.

Background Art

[0002] Video conferences such as Web conferences have come to be widely used in the market because meetings can be held online in real time via a network without having to travel long distances. For example, a plurality of participants (attendees) in a conference room where a video conference device for executing an application for holding a video conference is installed participate in a video conference with participants at other locations connected via a network, and images and voices of each participant are transmitted and received via the video conference device (for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in a video conference, there may be a case where information is to be transmitted only to a specific person among a plurality of participants during the progress of the conference. At present, among the people participating in a video conference, the only person to whom information can be transmitted so that other people cannot understand is probably the person sitting next to them. It has been difficult to transmit information to a specific person so that other people cannot understand during the progress of a video conference, including people participating via video.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention has been made, and one of its objects is to provide an information processing apparatus, a video conference system, and a control method capable of transmitting information to a specific person so that other people cannot understand during the progress of a video conference.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems. An information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged over the plurality of display pixels. The information processing apparatus controls the display of a display capable of switching between a planar view display and a stereoscopic view display by adjusting the direction of light emitted from the plurality of display pixels by controlling the alignment state of the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lens. The information processing apparatus includes an information acquisition unit that acquires information for stereoscopic view display, and a display control unit that controls the display to perform the planar view display and, when the information acquisition unit acquires information for stereoscopic view display, causes the acquired information to be stereoscopically displayed at a designated position in a part of the screen area of the display screen area.

[0007] The above information processing apparatus further includes a position information acquisition unit that acquires detection information on the position of the eyes of a person existing on the side facing the display detected from a captured image of the side facing the display. The information acquisition unit acquires the information for stereoscopic view display in association with identification information of the person to whom the information is to be transmitted. When causing the information acquired by the information acquisition unit to be stereoscopically displayed at the designated position in a stereoscopically viewable manner, the display control unit may cause the information to be stereoscopically displayed at the position of the eyes of the person to whom the information is to be transmitted based on the identification information of the person acquired by the information acquisition unit and the detection information on the position of the eyes of the person acquired by the position information acquisition unit.

[0008] In the above information processing apparatus, the display control unit may determine the position of the part of the screen area of the display screen area that is controlled for stereoscopic view display according to the designated position.

[0009] In the above information processing apparatus, the display control unit may determine the position of the partial screen area to be controlled for stereoscopic display among the screen areas of the display according to the position within the screen area of the content displayed on the display.

[0010] In the above information processing apparatus, when the information acquisition unit acquires a plurality of pieces of information to be conveyed to each of a plurality of persons, the display control unit may cause the stereoscopic display to display each of the plurality of pieces of information acquired by the information acquisition unit at a respectively designated position in a stereoscopically visible manner in each of the plurality of partial screen areas.

[0011] In the above information processing apparatus, the display control unit may control the partial screen area for stereoscopic display and control the other screen area for planar display by making the alignment state of the liquid crystal lens different between the partial screen area and the other screen area.

[0012] In the above information processing apparatus, the display control unit may alternately switch the display of the screen area of the display between the planar display and the stereoscopic display.

[0013] In the above information processing apparatus, the display control unit may control the display of the display in an interlace system and alternately switch between the planar display and the stereoscopic display between the odd fields and the even fields in one frame.

[0014] In the above information processing apparatus, when performing the stereoscopic display, the display control unit may divide and display the information acquired by the information acquisition unit as information to be displayed as a right-eye image and information to be displayed as a left-eye image.

[0015] The information processing apparatus further includes a transmission unit that transmits the captured image captured by an imaging device that images a captured image including a person existing on the side facing the display to another information processing apparatus connected by communication. The information acquisition unit may acquire identification information of a person selected from among the persons imaged in the captured image in the other information processing apparatus that has received the captured image transmitted from the transmission unit and the information to be transmitted in the stereoscopic display to the person.

[0016] Further, a video conferencing system comprising: a first information processing device that controls the display of a first display capable of switching between a planar view display and a stereoscopic view display by adjusting the direction of light emitted from a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged overlapping the plurality of display pixels, by controlling the alignment state of the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lenses; and a second information processing device that is communicatively connected to the first information processing device and can conduct an online video conference, wherein the first information processing device includes: a position information acquisition unit that acquires detection information on the position of the eyes of a person present on the side facing the first display, detected from an imaging image obtained by imaging the side facing the first display; a first transmission unit that transmits the imaging image obtained by an imaging device that images an imaging image including a person present on the side facing the first display, to the second information processing device; an information acquisition unit that acquires information to be stereoscopically displayed from the second information processing device; and a first display control unit that controls the first display to perform the planar view display, and when the information acquisition unit acquires the information to be stereoscopically displayed, stereoscopically displays the acquired information at a designated position within a partial screen area of the screen area of the first display in a stereoscopically viewable manner. The second information processing device includes: a second display control unit that causes the second display to display the imaging image transmitted from the first transmission unit; a reception unit that receives selection of a person from among the persons imaged in the imaging image displayed on the second display for whom information is to be conveyed, and input of information to be conveyed to the person; and a second transmission unit that transmits, in association with each other, the identification information of the person received by the reception unit and the information to be conveyed to the person. The information acquisition unit of the first information processing device acquires the identification information of the person and the information to be conveyed to the person transmitted from the second transmission unit of the second information processing device, as the identification information of the person for whom the information to be stereoscopically displayed is to be conveyed and the information to be conveyed to the person. When the first display control unit of the first information processing device stereoscopically displays the information acquired by the information acquisition unit at a designated position in a stereoscopically viewable manner, the first display control unit stereoscopically displays the information at the position of the eyes of the person for whom the information is to be conveyed, based on the detection information on the position of the eyes of the person acquired by the position information acquisition unit, in a stereoscopically viewable manner.

[0017] Further, in the information processing apparatus for controlling the display of a display that includes a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged overlapping the plurality of display pixels, and that can switch between planar display and stereoscopic display by adjusting the direction of light emitted from the plurality of display pixels by controlling the alignment state of the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lenses, the control method includes: a step in which a control unit acquires information for causing stereoscopic display; and a step in which, when the control unit controls the display to perform planar display and acquires the information for causing stereoscopic display, the control unit causes stereoscopic display of the acquired information at a specified position in a part of the screen area of the display in a stereoscopically viewable manner.

[0018] In addition, a first information processing apparatus for controlling the display of a first display, which includes a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged over the plurality of display pixels, and which can switch between planar display and stereoscopic display by controlling the alignment state of the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lenses, and a second information processing apparatus capable of conducting an online video conference in communication connection with the first information processing apparatus. In the control method of the video conference system, a position information acquisition step in which a control unit in the first information processing apparatus acquires detection information on the position of the eyes of a person present on the side facing the first display, detected from an imaging image of the side facing the first display; a first transmission step in which the imaging apparatus that captures the imaging image including the person present on the side facing the first display transmits the captured imaging image to the second information processing apparatus; a second display control step in which a control unit in the second information processing apparatus causes the imaging image transmitted in the first transmission step to be displayed on a second display; a reception step in which selection of a person to whom information is to be conveyed and input of the information to be conveyed to the person are received from among the persons imaged in the imaging image displayed on the second display; a second transmission step in which the identification information of the person received in the reception step and the information to be conveyed to the person are transmitted in association with each other; an acquisition step in which a control unit in the first information processing apparatus acquires from the second information processing apparatus the identification information of the person and the information to be conveyed to the person as information for stereoscopic display; a first display control step in which the first display is controlled to be in planar display, and when the information for stereoscopic display is acquired in the acquisition step, the acquired information is stereoscopically displayed at a specified position in a partial screen area of the screen area of the first display. The control unit in the first information processing apparatus, in the first display control step, when stereoscopically displaying the information acquired in the acquisition step at a specified position, based on the detection information on the position of the eyes of the person acquired in the position information acquisition step,Perform the stereoscopic display so as to be stereoscopically visible with respect to the position of the eyes of the person to whom the information is to be transmitted.

Advantages of the Invention

[0019] According to the above aspect of the present invention, it is possible to transmit information to a specific person so that other people cannot understand it during the progress of a video conference.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. <First Embodiment> First, an overview of the video conferencing system according to the present embodiment will be described. [Configuration of Video Conferencing System] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of the video conferencing system according to the present embodiment. The illustrated video conferencing system SYS is a system for connecting a plurality of bases via a communication network NW such as the Internet and conducting a video conference online in real time. This FIG. 1 shows an example of connecting two bases, base A and base B, and communicating images and voices bidirectionally to conduct a video conference.

[0022] Each base is equipped with, as a basic configuration of the video conferencing system SYS, an information processing device 10, a display 20 (display device), 2D cameras 30 and 3D cameras 40 for imaging the side facing the display 20, and an eye camera 50 for detecting the positions of the eyes of the people participating in the video conference.

[0023] The information processing apparatus 10 is, for example, a notebook (clamshell type) PC (Personal Computer), a desktop PC, or the like. The information processing apparatus 10 realizes the function of a video conference by executing a program for performing the processing of the video conference system. Hereinafter, the program (application program) for performing the processing of the video conference is referred to as the "video conference application". Note that the information processing apparatus 10 is not limited to a general-purpose PC, and may be a dedicated information processing apparatus having the function of a video conference.

[0024] The display 20 is a relatively large display device for participants participating in a video conference at each site to display images of participants participating in the video conference at other sites. For example, the display 20 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like. Further, since the display 20 is a relatively large display device, it is not limited to being placed on a desk, and may be installed on a wall or the like. Further, the display 20 is a display device capable of switching between 2D display (planar view display) and 3D display (stereoscopic view display). The configuration for switching between this 2D display and 3D display will be described later.

[0025] The 2D camera 30 and the 3D camera 40 are imaging devices for imaging the side facing the display 20, and are provided for imaging a person participating in a video conference. That is, the 2D camera 30 and the 3D camera 40 image an imaging image including a person existing on the side facing the display 20. One 2D camera 30 is installed, for example, above the display 20 as an imaging device for imaging a 2D image. On the other hand, for imaging a 3D image, two 3D cameras 40, an imaging device for imaging a right-eye image and an imaging device for imaging a left-eye image, are set and installed, for example, above the display 20.

[0026] The eye camera 50 is an imaging device for detecting the positions of the eyes of a person present on the side facing the display 20 (i.e., a person participating in a video conference). For example, two eye cameras 50 are provided corresponding to each of the two 3D cameras 40. The eye camera 50 detects a face region in which a face is imaged and the positions of the eyes from the captured image. For example, the eye camera 50 detects the face region and the positions of the eyes from the shapes and positional relationships of the eyes, nose, mouth, etc., which are the components of the face, in the captured image. For example, the eye camera 50 outputs position coordinates indicating the positions of the eyes for each detected face region (i.e., person).

[0027] Here, the position coordinates of the eyes detected by the eye camera 50 also have a correlation with the position coordinates on the captured image of the 2D camera 30 or the position coordinates on the captured image of the 3D camera 40. Also, the position coordinates of the eyes detected by the eye camera 50 may include information on the distance from the eye camera 50 (the distance from the display 20). For example, the position coordinates of the eyes detected by the eye camera 50 are output as three-dimensional position coordinates with respect to the screen of the display 20.

[0028] Here, in FIG. 1, when distinguishing each device installed at base A from each device installed at base B, they are described as the information processing device 10A, the display 20A, the 2D camera 30A, the 3D camera 40A, and the eye camera 50A. Similarly, when distinguishing each device installed at base B from each device installed at base A, they are described as the information processing device 10B, the display 20B, the 2D camera 30B, the 3D camera 40B, and the eye camera 50B.

[0029] The information processing device 10A at base A and the information processing device 10B at base B execute a video conference application to communicate images and audio bidirectionally via the communication network NW and perform video conference processing. Here, the persons participating in the video conference at base A are referred to as person A1, person A2, person A3, and person A4, and the persons participating in the video conference at base B are referred to as person B1, person B2, person B3, and person B4.

[0030] In the video conference processing, the information processing apparatus 10A transmits a 2D image or a 3D image captured using the 2D camera 30A or the 3D camera 40A to the information processing apparatus 10B via the communication network NW. The information processing apparatus 10B causes the 2D image or the 3D image received from the information processing apparatus 10A to be 2D-displayed or 3D-displayed on the display 20B. An image including persons A1, A2, A3, and A4 participating in the video conference at site A is 2D-displayed or 3D-displayed on the display 20B. For example, when the information processing apparatus 10B causes the display 20B to perform 3D display, it is also possible to perform 3D display so as to be stereoscopically viewable with respect to the detected eye position based on the eye position detected by the eye camera 50B.

[0031] In the video conference processing, the information processing apparatus 10B transmits a 2D image or a 3D image captured using the 2D camera 30B or the 3D camera 40B to the information processing apparatus 10A via the communication network NW. The information processing apparatus 10A causes the 2D image or the 3D image received from the information processing apparatus 10B to be 2D-displayed or 3D-displayed on the display 20A. An image including persons B1, B2, B3, and B4 participating in the video conference at site B is 2D-displayed or 3D-displayed on the display 20A. For example, when the information processing apparatus 10A causes the display 20A to perform 3D display, it is also possible to perform 3D display so as to be stereoscopically viewable with respect to the detected eye position based on the eye position detected by the eye camera 50A.

[0032] [Configuration of the Display] Next, the configuration of the display 20 capable of switching between 2D display and 3D display will be described. First, for reference, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, taking a conventional 3D display dedicated as an example, the configuration and principle of 3D display will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a 3D display dedicated, showing a part of the cross section. A plurality of lenticular lenses are arranged over a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix. By passing through the lenticular lens, only the left-eye image can be seen by the left eye and only the right-eye image can be seen by the right eye, resulting in a stereoscopic 3D display.

[0033] Here, in the 3D display using a lenticular lens, since stereoscopic viewing is possible only when the direction of the angle of the light passing through the lenticular lens matches the position of the eyes, the position where stereoscopic viewing is possible is limited. For example, in the schematic diagram shown in FIG. 2, stereoscopic viewing is possible when the position of the eyes is approximately in the center with respect to the screen of the display. When the position of the eyes deviates from the central position, the direction of the angle of the light passing through the lenticular lens does not match the position of the eyes, not only making stereoscopic viewing impossible but also making it impossible to recognize what is being displayed. In which direction stereoscopic viewing is made possible can be changed by shifting (moving) the image displayed on the display pixels with respect to the lenticular lens.

[0034] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of 3D display when shifting the position where stereoscopic viewing is possible to the right. As shown in FIG. 3, when the image displayed on the display pixels is shifted to the left with respect to the lenticular lens, the position where stereoscopic viewing is possible shifts to the right. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of 3D display when shifting the position where stereoscopic viewing is possible to the left. As shown in FIG. 4, when the image displayed on the display pixels is shifted to the right with respect to the lenticular lens, the position where stereoscopic viewing is possible shifts to the left.

[0035] Next, a method for shifting the image to be displayed on the display pixels with respect to the lenticular lens will be described. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a method for shifting the image to be displayed on the display pixels. (A) of FIG. 5 shows a part of the cross-section of the display as in the example shown in FIG. 3. (B) of FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the arrangement of the display pixels and the lenticular lens when looking at the display surface. A plurality of lenticular lenses are arranged obliquely with respect to the arrangement of a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix. Therefore, for example, by shifting the image to be displayed on the display pixels in the vertical direction, the image can be shifted in the horizontal direction. That is, by shifting the image to be displayed on the display pixels in the vertical direction, the stereoscopic position can be shifted in the horizontal direction.

[0036] Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, a method for switching between 2D display and 3D display of the display 20 in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the display during 3D display according to the present embodiment. This FIG. 6 shows a part of the cross-section of the display 20 during 3D display. The display 20 includes a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged over the plurality of display pixels. The liquid crystal lens is configured to include liquid crystal and an optical lens. On the plurality of display pixels, a right-eye image and a left-eye image captured by the 3D camera 40 during 3D display are displayed.

[0037] The display 20 can switch between 2D display and 3D display by controlling the alignment state of the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lens to adjust the direction of light emitted from the plurality of display pixels. When an alternating voltage is applied to the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lens, the liquid crystal is aligned by the electric lines of force, and the light bends along the aligned liquid crystal, resulting in the same effect as a lenticular lens. As a result, only the left-eye image can be seen by the left eye and only the right-eye image can be seen by the right eye, resulting in a stereoscopic 3D display. Also, as described with reference to FIG. 5, by shifting the image to be displayed on the display pixels in the vertical direction, the stereoscopic position can be shifted in the horizontal direction even in the 3D display of the display 20 according to the present embodiment.

[0038] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a display during 2D display according to the present embodiment. This FIG. 7 shows a part of the cross section of the display 20 similar to FIG. 6, but in the case of 2D display, a 2D image captured by the 2D camera 30 is displayed on a plurality of display pixels and an AC voltage is not applied to the liquid crystal, which is different. When an AC voltage is not applied to the liquid crystal, for example, since the liquid crystal is arranged in a certain horizontal direction with respect to the screen of the display 20, the vertical transmitted light with respect to the screen of the display 20 does not bend and is transmitted as it is. Thereby, 2D display is achieved.

[0039] Further, the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can perform both 2D display and 3D display. For example, the information processing apparatus 10 can control only a part of the screen area of the screen area of the display 20 for 3D display and control other screen areas for 2D display. For example, the electrodes of a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged on the display 20 are segmented so that an AC voltage can be applied only to the liquid crystal lenses in a part of the screen area. The unit of the segment can be arbitrarily determined as the specification of the display 20. The information processing apparatus 10 controls only a part of the screen area for 3D display by applying an AC voltage only to the liquid crystal lenses in a part of the screen area and displaying a 3D image (right-eye image and left-eye image) on the display pixels. Further, the information processing apparatus 10 controls 2D display for areas other than the screen areas controlled for 3D display by not applying an AC voltage to the liquid crystal lenses and displaying a 2D image on the display pixels.

[0040] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example in which only a part of the screen area of the display according to the present embodiment is controlled for 3D display. The illustrated image area G1 indicates the area of the entire image displayed on the desktop screen of the PC. Among the image area G1, the image area G2 is an area of 2D image content, and the image area G3 is an area of 3D image content. When the information processing apparatus 10 displays this image on the display 20, it controls only the screen area where the 3D image (the image in the image area G3) is displayed in the screen area of the display 20 for 3D display, and controls other screen areas for 2D display. Thereby, the information processing apparatus 10 can display only the 3D image in a stereoscopic viewable manner, and can display other screen areas in 2D without deteriorating the resolution.

[0041] Further, the information processing apparatus 10 uses the control to perform 3D display on only a part of this screen area, so that even if there are a plurality of people on the side facing the display 20, it can be stereoscopically viewed with respect to the specified position. By performing 3D display, information can be transmitted to only a specific person. For example, the information processing apparatus 10 performs 3D display in a stereoscopic viewable manner with respect to the position of the eyes of the person to whom information is to be transmitted based on the position of the eyes of the person detected by the eye camera 50 (see FIG. 1).

[0042] The information to be transmitted to only a specific person is visual information such as text, patterns such as stamps and illustrations, or photos, and is a so-called message from the sender (the transmitting side) to other receivers (the receiving side). Hereinafter, in the video conference system SYS shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that a message is transmitted (sent) from a specific person at site A to a specific person at site B or from a specific person at site B to a specific person at site A by using the control to perform 3D display on only a part of the screen area of the display 20. The display example, configuration, and processing will be described.

[0043] Referring to FIG. 9, a display example of transmitting a message only to a specific person using 3D display will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a first example of message display using 3D display according to the present embodiment. Among the illustrated image regions G1, the image region G3 contains a message to be conveyed to a specific person α (Person-α) as the content of the 3D image. The image region G2 is a region of 2D image content. When the information processing apparatus 10 displays this image on the display 20, it detects the position of the eyes of the specific person α (Person-α), and controls only the screen region of the display 20 where the 3D image (the image of the image region G3) is displayed to be a 3D display that can be stereoscopically viewed with respect to the position of the eyes of the specific person α (Person-α). Further, the information processing apparatus 10 controls the other screen regions to be 2D displays.

[0044] Thereby, the information processing apparatus 10 can display a message that can be visually recognized only by the specific person α (Person-α) on the display 20. That is, the information processing apparatus 10 can use the 3D display of the display 20 to convey a message only to a specific person so that other people cannot understand it. On the other hand, the regions other than the screen region that is 3D-displayed on the display 20 are 2D displays. Therefore, the 2D image displayed in the 2D display screen region can be visually recognized not only by the specific person α (Person-α) but also by other people β (for example, Person-β).

[0045] Also, the example shown in FIG. 9 is an example of displaying a message that can be visually recognized only by one person, but the information processing apparatus 10 may display a message that can be visually recognized only by each of a plurality of people. Referring to FIG. 10, a display example of displaying a message that can be visually recognized only by each of a plurality of people using 3D display will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second example of message display using 3D display according to the present embodiment.

[0046] Among the image regions G1 to be illustrated, the image regions G3a and G3b contain messages to be conveyed to specific persons as 3D image contents. The message contained in the image region G3a is a message to be conveyed to person α (Person-α), and the message contained in the image region G3b is a message to be conveyed to person β (Person-β). The image region G2 is a region of 2D image contents.

[0047] When the information processing apparatus 10 causes the display 20 to display this image, it detects the position of the eyes of person α (Person-α), and controls the display area of the 3D image in the image region G3a in the screen area of the display 20 to be a 3D display that is stereoscopically visible with respect to the position of the eyes of person α (Person-α). Further, the information processing apparatus 10 detects the position of the eyes of person β (Person-β), and controls the display area of the 3D image in the image region G3b in the screen area of the display 20 to be a 3D display that is stereoscopically visible with respect to the position of the eyes of person β (Person-β). Further, the information processing apparatus 10 controls the other screen areas to be 2D displays.

[0048] Thereby, the information processing apparatus 10 can cause the display 20 to display messages that can be visually recognized only by each of a plurality of persons. That is, the information processing apparatus 10 can use the 3D display of the display 20 to convey a message so that other persons cannot understand it for each of a plurality of persons. On the other hand, areas other than the screen area that is 3D-displayed on the display 20 are 2D displays.

[0049] Also, when the information processing apparatus 10 controls a part of the screen area of the display 20 for 3D display, the position of the part of the screen area to be controlled for 3D display may be determined according to the position of the person to whom the message is to be conveyed. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the information processing apparatus 10 may display a message for the person α (Person-α) existing on the right side toward the display 20 on the right side within the screen area of the display 20. On the other hand, the information processing apparatus 10 may display a message for the person β (Person-β) existing on the left side toward the display 20 on the left side within the screen area of the display 20. Since it may be difficult to ensure visibility by 3D display when the position of the screen area to be 3D-displayed is far from the position of the person's eyes, it is preferable that the position of the screen area to be 3D-displayed is closer to the position of the person's eyes in this way.

[0050] Also, when a message is 3D-displayed so as to be stereoscopically visible only to a specific person, the message may be divided and displayed into information to be displayed as a right-eye image and information to be displayed as a left-eye image.

[0051] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example in which a message to be 3D-displayed according to the present embodiment is divided into a right-eye image and a left-eye image. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the message "Eye tracking 3D is key technology fwor immersive experience" to be 3D-displayed is alternately extracted and divided into a right-eye image and a left-eye image character by character. Specifically, the message to be displayed as a right-eye image is "y t a k n 3 I k y e h o o y o i m r I e x e I n e", and the message to be displayed as a left-eye image is "E e r c I g D s e t c n l g f r m e s v e p r e c ".

[0052] In this way, by splitting the message into a right-eye version and a left-eye version, only a person in a position where the 3D-displayed message can be viewed stereoscopically can view the right-eye image with the right eye and the left-eye image with the left eye. Therefore, the message to be 3D-displayed as described above can be viewed. For a person in another position, the characters cannot be viewed at all, or cannot be viewed in the correct character order. Here, an example was described in which the message is alternately extracted and split into a right-eye version and a left-eye version for each character, but the unit of the number of characters to be split is not limited to one character. For example, it may be alternately extracted and split into a right-eye version and a left-eye version for every two characters.

[0053] [Configuration of Information Processing Device] Next, with reference to FIG. 12, the configuration of the information processing device 10 used in the video conferencing system SYS shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing device according to the present embodiment. The information processing device 10 is connected to displays 20, a 2D camera 30, a 3D camera 40, and an eye camera 50, and is communicably connected to other information processing devices 10, so that a video conference can be held online in real time (see FIG. 1). For example, the information processing device 10 includes a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, an input unit 13, an output unit 14, a 2D / 3D control unit 15, and a control unit 16. These units are communicably connected via a bus or the like.

[0054] The communication unit 11 includes, for example, a plurality of Ethernet (registered trademark) ports, communication devices that perform wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and the like. For example, the communication unit 11 functions as a transmission unit that transmits image data and various types of information to other information processing devices 10 via a communication network NW (see FIG. 1), and functions as a reception unit that receives image data and various types of information from other information processing devices 10.

[0055] The storage unit 12 is configured to include one or more of an SSD (Solid State Drive), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), ROM (Read Only Memory), Flash-ROM, etc. For example, the storage unit 12 stores a system program for controlling the system of the information processing apparatus 10, setting data, a program of an application operating on the system, various data used in the application, and the like.

[0056] Input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, touch pad, and microphone for inputting various instructions by voice are connected to the input unit 13. These input devices may be built into the information processing apparatus 10 or may be external devices separate from the information processing apparatus 10.

[0057] The output unit 14 is an output device such as a speaker. Further, the output unit 14 may be a headphone jack to which an external output device such as headphones is connected.

[0058] The 2D / 3D control unit 15 controls the display of the display 20 to be 2D display or 3D display according to the control from the control unit 16. For example, the 2D / 3D control unit 15 controls the alignment state of the liquid crystal by controlling whether to apply an alternating voltage to the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lens, and controls the display of the image to each display pixel, thereby controlling to 2D display (see FIG. 7) or 3D display (see FIG. 6).

[0059] The control unit 16 is configured to include a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), GPU (Graphic Processing Unit), chipset, and memory, etc., and realizes various functions by executing programs (system programs and various programs such as applications operating on the system) stored in the storage unit 12 and the like.

[0060] For example, as a functional configuration realized by executing a video conferencing application, the control unit 16 includes a video conferencing processing unit 161. The video conferencing processing unit 161 executes the processing of a video conference for two-way communication of images and sounds with other information processing devices 10 via the communication network NW. For example, the video conferencing processing unit 161 transmits an imaging image (an imaging image including a person existing on the side facing the display 20) captured by the 2D camera 30 or the 3D camera 40 to another information processing device 10 connected to the communication network NW via the communication unit 11. Further, the video conferencing processing unit 161 receives an imaging image transmitted from another information processing device 10 connected to the communication network NW via the communication unit 11, and causes the received imaging image to be displayed on the display 20.

[0061] Further, the control unit 16 executes a process of transmitting a message to only a specific person using the 3D display described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11. The process of transmitting a message to only a specific person using this 3D display is hereinafter referred to as "3D message notification process". A program for performing this 3D message notification process, for example, may be incorporated in a video conferencing application, or may be provided as an application program separate from the video conferencing application and may be performed in cooperation with the processing of the video conference.

[0062] The 3D message notification process includes a transmission-side process on the side that transmits the message and a display-side process on the side that receives and 3D-displays the message. As a functional configuration for performing the transmission-side process in the 3D message notification process, the control unit 16 includes a person information acquisition unit 162, a message reception unit 163, and a message transmission unit 164. Further, as a functional configuration for performing the display-side process in the 3D message notification process, the control unit 16 includes a message acquisition unit 165, a position information acquisition unit 166, and a display control unit 167.

[0063] The person information acquisition unit 162 acquires the person information of the participants in the video conference from another information processing apparatus 10 (the information processing apparatus 10 that performs display-side processing) via the communication network NW and the communication unit 11. The person information of the participants in the video conference is information in which the eye position information (for example, position coordinates) and the person ID of a person (participant) detected by another information processing apparatus 10 (the information processing apparatus 10 that performs display-side processing) are associated.

[0064] The message reception unit 163 receives the selection of a person to whom a message is to be conveyed from among the persons imaged in the captured image of the video conference displayed on the display 20, and the input of a message to be conveyed to the person. For example, the selection of a person to whom a message is to be conveyed can be made by an operation on the screen area of the display 20 (such as a click operation using a mouse or a touch operation). The message reception unit 163 receives, as the person to whom a message is to be conveyed, the person whose eye position is closest to the position operated on the screen area among the persons imaged in the captured image displayed on the display 20. Note that an upper limit value may be set for the distance from the operated position to the eye position, and an operation without an eye position within the upper limit value may be regarded as an invalid operation.

[0065] In addition, the message reception unit 163 receives the input of a message by causing a text box in which text can be input to be displayed on the display 20. Note that the message reception unit 163 may receive the input of a message using a stamp by causing a list of stamps to be displayed on the display 20.

[0066] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a method for receiving a message according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13(A), when the user selects a person to whom a message is to be conveyed by performing a click operation using a mouse or the like on the screen area of the display 20, a text box TB is displayed as shown in FIG. 13(B). When a message is input into the text box TB, the message reception unit 163 receives it as the message to be conveyed to the person whose eye position is closest to the position where the click operation was performed.

[0067] Returning to FIG. 12, the message transmission unit 164 transmits message information associating the person ID of the person received by the message reception unit 163 with the message to another information processing apparatus 10 (information processing apparatus 10 that performs display-side processing) via the communication unit 11 and the communication network NW.

[0068] The message acquisition unit 165 (an example of the information acquisition unit) acquires a message to be 3D-displayed. For example, the message acquisition unit 165 acquires message information to be 3D-displayed via the communication network NW and the communication unit 11, which is transmitted from the information processing apparatus 10 that performs transmission-side processing in the 3D message notification process.

[0069] For example, the message acquisition unit 165 acquires by associating the message to be 3D-displayed with the person ID of the person who wants to convey the message. That is, the message acquisition unit 165 acquires the person ID of a person selected from among the persons (participants in the video conference) imaged in the captured image in another information processing apparatus 10 (message transmission side) that has received the captured image transmitted from the video conference processing unit 161, and the message to be conveyed to the person.

[0070] The position information acquisition unit 166 acquires detection information (position information) of the position of the eyes of a person existing on the side facing the display 20 from the eye camera 50. Further, the position information acquisition unit 166 associates the position information of the eyes of the person (for example, position coordinates) acquired from the eye camera 50 with the person ID, and transmits it to the information processing apparatus 10 that performs transmission-side processing in the 3D message notification process as person information of the participants in the video conference. Here, the person ID is identification information for making the detected position information of a plurality of eyes distinguishable when a plurality of people's eyes are detected by the eye camera 50. For example, the person ID may be a number numbered for each of the detected position information of a plurality of eyes detected by the eye camera 50.

[0071] The display control unit 167 controls the display of the display 20. When video conference processing by a video conference application is being executed, the display control unit 167 causes the imaging image transmitted from another information processing device 10 received via the communication unit 11 to be displayed on the display 20.

[0072] Also, when controlling the display of the display 20, the display control unit 167 controls the display to 2D display or 3D display via the 2D / 3D control unit 15. For example, the display control unit 167 controls the display of the display 20 to either 2D display or 3D display.

[0073] For example, the display control unit 167 can control the display 20 to 2D display and at the same time control a part of the screen area of the display 20 to 3D display. For example, the display control unit 167 controls a part of the screen area of the display 20 to 3D display and controls other screen areas to 2D display. As an example, the display control unit 167 causes the message included in the message information acquired by the message acquisition unit 165 to be 3D displayed in a stereoscopic manner at a specified position in a part of the screen area of the display 20 (see FIG. 9). Then, the display control unit 167 controls the screen area excluding the screen area where this message is 3D displayed to 2D display.

[0074] Here, when the display control unit 167 causes a message to be 3D displayed in a stereoscopic manner at a specified position, based on the person ID included in the message information received by the message acquisition unit 165, it causes the message to be 3D displayed in a stereoscopic manner with respect to the position of the eyes of the person identified by the person ID (that is, the person to whom the message is to be conveyed) (see FIG. 9). The position of the eyes at this time is based on the latest eye position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 166.

[0075] In addition, when the message acquisition unit 165 acquires a plurality of messages to be transmitted to each of a plurality of persons, the display control unit 167 performs 3D display of each of the plurality of messages acquired by the message acquisition unit 165 in each of a plurality of partial screen areas so as to be stereoscopically viewable at a specified position (see FIG. 10).

[0076] In addition, the display control unit 167 may determine the position of a partial screen area to be controlled for 3D display among the screen areas of the display 20 according to a specified position. For example, the information processing apparatus 10 may display a message for a person existing on the right side toward the display 20 on the right side within the screen area of the display 20 and display a message for a person existing on the left side toward the display 20 on the left side within the screen area of the display 20 according to the position of the person to whom the message is to be transmitted (see FIG. 10).

[0077] Note that the display control unit 167 may determine the position of a partial screen area to be controlled for 3D display among the screen areas of the display 20 according to the position within the screen area of the content displayed on the display 20. For example, the display control unit 167 may determine the position of a partial screen area to be controlled for 3D display in an area where no application window is displayed (such as a background area) within the screen area of the display 20.

[0078] In addition, when performing 3D display of a message, the display control unit 167 may divide and display the message acquired by the message acquisition unit 165 into a message (character) to be displayed as a right-eye image and a message (character) to be displayed as a left-eye image (see FIG. 11).

[0079] [Operation by 3D Message Notification Processing] Next, the operation of 3D message notification processing in the video conference system SYS will be described. Here, a case where a message is transmitted from site A to a specific person at site B in the video conference system SYS shown in FIG. 1 will be described as an example.

[0080] First, referring to FIG. 14, the operation of the 3D message notification process (message transmission-side process) executed by the information processing apparatus 10A at base A will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the message transmission-side process in the 3D message notification process according to the present embodiment.

[0081] (Step S101) When the information processing apparatus 10A starts the video conferencing application, it starts processing the video conference by the video conferencing application. The information processing apparatus 10A transmits, for example, a captured image (a captured image including persons A1 to A4 present on the side facing the display 20A) captured by the 2D camera 30A to the information processing apparatus 10B via the communication network NW. Further, the information processing apparatus 10A receives the captured image transmitted from the information processing apparatus 10B via the communication network NW, and displays the received captured image on the display 20A. The captured image transmitted from the information processing apparatus 10B is, for example, a captured image (a captured image including persons B1 to B4 present on the side facing the display 20B) captured by the 2D camera 30B. Then, the process proceeds to the process of step S103.

[0082] (Step S103) The information processing apparatus 10A acquires person information via the communication network NW. The person information is information in which the eye position information (for example, position coordinates) of a person participating in the video conference at base B and the person ID are associated, and is information detected and acquired by the information processing apparatus 10B using the eye camera 50B. Then, the process proceeds to the process of step S105.

[0083] (Step S105) The information processing apparatus 10A receives a selection of a person to whom a message is to be sent from among the persons (participants at Site B) imaged in the captured image of the video conference displayed on the display 20A. For example, a person participating at Site A selects a person to whom a message is to be sent from among Persons B1 to B4 participating in the video conference at Site B by operating on the screen area of the display 20A (such as a click operation using a mouse, etc.) (see (A) of FIG. 13). The information processing apparatus 10A accepts, as the person to whom the message is to be sent, the person among Persons B1 to B4 displayed on the display 20 whose eye position is closest to the position where the operation was performed on the screen area. Then, the process proceeds to the process of Step S107.

[0084] (Step S107) The information processing apparatus 10A causes a text box TB (see (B) of FIG. 13) capable of text input to be displayed on the display 20A as a means for inputting a message to the person selected in Step S105. The information processing apparatus 10A accepts the input of a message in response to the user's input operation to the text box TB. Note that when the information processing apparatus 10A accepts the input of a message to the text box TB, the display of the text box TB ends. Then, the process proceeds to the process of Step S109.

[0085] (Step S109) The information processing apparatus 10A transmits message information associating the person ID of the person accepted in Step S105 with the message accepted in Step S107 to the information processing apparatus 10B via the communication network NW. Then, the process proceeds to the process of Step S111.

[0086] (Step S111) The information processing apparatus 10A determines whether or not the video conference application has ended. If the information processing apparatus 10A determines that the video conference application has not ended (NO), it continues the video conference process and returns to Step S103. On the other hand, if the information processing apparatus 10A determines that the video conference application has ended (YES), it ends the 3D message notification process.

[0087] Next, referring to FIG. 15, the operation of the 3D message notification process (message display-side process) executed by the information processing apparatus 10B at base B will be described. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the display-side process of a message in the 3D message notification process according to the present embodiment.

[0088] (Step S201) When the information processing apparatus 10B starts the video conference application, it starts processing the video conference by the video conference application. The information processing apparatus 10B transmits, for example, a captured image (a captured image including persons B1 to B4 present on the side facing the display 20B) captured by the 2D camera 30B to the information processing apparatus 10A via the communication network NW. Further, the information processing apparatus 10B receives the captured image transmitted from the information processing apparatus 10A via the communication network NW, and displays the received captured image on the display 20B. The captured image transmitted from the information processing apparatus 10A is, for example, a captured image (a captured image including persons A1 to A4 present on the side facing the display 20A) captured by the 2D camera 30A. Then, the process proceeds to step S203.

[0089] (Step S203) The information processing apparatus 10B acquires detection information (position information) on the positions of the eyes of the persons present on the side facing the display 20B from the eye camera 50B. Then, the process proceeds to step S205.

[0090] (Step S205) The information processing apparatus 10B associates the position information (for example, position coordinates) of the eyes of the persons acquired from the eye camera 50 with the person IDs, and transmits them as person information of the persons participating in the video conference at base B to the information processing apparatus 10A via the communication network NW. Then, the process proceeds to step S207.

[0091] (Step S207) The information processing apparatus 10B determines whether it has acquired message information from the information processing apparatus 10A. The message information refers to the message information transmitted from the information processing apparatus 10A in step S109 of FIG. 14. If the information processing apparatus 10B determines that it has not acquired message information from the information processing apparatus 10A (NO), it proceeds to the process of step S211. On the other hand, if the information processing apparatus 10B determines that it has acquired message information from the information processing apparatus 10A (YES), it proceeds to the process of step S209.

[0092] (Step S209) The information processing apparatus 10B 3D-displays, in a stereoscopically visible manner, the message included in the message information acquired in step S207 at a specified position in a partial screen area of the screen area of the display 20B. Specifically, the information processing apparatus 10B 3D-displays, in a stereoscopically visible manner, the message included in the message information acquired in step S207 at the position of the eyes of the person identified by the person ID included in the message information (i.e., the person to whom the message is to be conveyed) (see FIG. 9). Thereby, the message selected by the person from the information processing apparatus 10A and transmitted is displayed on the display 20B so as to be visible only to the selected person.

[0093] Note that when the information processing apparatus 10B has acquired a plurality of messages to be conveyed to each of a plurality of persons, it may 3D-display each of the plurality of messages in a stereoscopically visible manner at the position of the eyes of each of the persons to whom the messages are to be conveyed in each of a plurality of partial screen areas (see FIG. 10).

[0094] Also, the information processing apparatus 10B may display, in the right side of the screen area of the display 20, the message for the person existing on the right side toward the display 20 according to the position of the person to whom the message is to be conveyed, and display, in the left side of the screen area of the display 20, the message for the person existing on the left side toward the display 20, with respect to the position of the partial screen area controlled for 3D display (see FIG. 10).

[0095] Further, when the information processing apparatus 10B displays a message in 3D, it may divide the message into a message (characters) to be displayed as a right-eye image and a message (characters) to be displayed as a left-eye image and display them (see FIG. 11).

[0096] (Step S211) The information processing apparatus 10B determines whether the video conference application has ended. If the information processing apparatus 10B determines that the video conference application has not ended (NO), it continues the video conference process and returns to step S203. On the other hand, if the information processing apparatus 10B determines that the video conference application has ended (YES), it ends the 3D message notification process.

[0097] [Summary of the Embodiment] As described above, the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment controls the display of the display 20. The display 20 includes a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged over the plurality of display pixels, and can switch between 2D display (planar view display) and 3D display (stereoscopic view display) by controlling the alignment state of the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lens to adjust the direction of light emitted from the plurality of display pixels. The information processing apparatus 10 controls the display 20 to perform 2D display, and when it acquires a message (an example of information) to be displayed in 3D, it 3D-displays the acquired message in a part of the screen area of the display 20 in a stereoscopically visible manner at a specified position.

[0098] Thereby, since the information processing apparatus 10 3D-displays a message in a part of the screen area of the display 20 in a stereoscopically visible manner at a specified position, even during a video conference, it can convey a message (information) only to a specific person so that other people cannot understand it.

[0099] For example, the information processing apparatus 10 acquires the position information of the eyes (detection information of the eye positions) of a person existing on the side facing the display 20, which is detected from the captured image of the side facing the display 20. Also, the information processing apparatus 10 acquires, in association with each other, a message to be 3D-displayed and a person ID (an example of identification information of a person) of the person to whom the message is to be conveyed. Then, when the information processing apparatus 10 3D-displays the acquired message in a stereoscopically viewable manner at a specified position, based on the acquired person ID and the position information of the person's eyes, the message is 3D-displayed in a stereoscopically viewable manner at the position of the eyes of the person to whom the message is to be conveyed.

[0100] Thereby, the information processing apparatus 10 2D-displays, in a stereoscopically viewable manner, at the position of the eyes of the person to whom the message is to be conveyed, in a part of the screen area of the display 20. Thus, even during the progress of a video conference, a message (information) can be conveyed only to a specific person so that other persons cannot understand it.

[0101] Also, the information processing apparatus 10 may determine the position of a part of the screen area of the display 20 to be controlled for 3D display according to the specified position. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the information processing apparatus 10 may display a message for a person α (Person-α) existing on the right side facing the display 20 on the right side within the screen area of the display 20. On the other hand, the information processing apparatus 10 may display a message for a person β (Person-β) existing on the left side facing the display 20 on the left side within the screen area of the display 20.

[0102] Thereby, the information processing apparatus 10 can ensure the visibility by 3D display and make the message easier to view.

[0103] Note that the information processing apparatus 10 may determine the position of a part of the screen area of the display 20 to be controlled for 3D display according to the position within the screen area of the content displayed on the display 20.

[0104] As a result, when the information processing apparatus 10 causes the display 20 to 3D-display a message, it is possible to suppress the influence on the visibility of other displayed content.

[0105] When the information processing apparatus 10 acquires a plurality of messages to be transmitted to each of a plurality of persons, each of the plurality of messages acquired may be 3D-displayed in a stereoscopically visible manner at a specified position (the position of the eyes of the person to whom each message is to be transmitted) in each of a plurality of partial screen areas of the display 20.

[0106] As a result, even during a video conference, the information processing apparatus 10 can transmit a message (information) to each of a plurality of persons so that other persons cannot understand it.

[0107] Further, the information processing apparatus 10 controls a part of the screen area of the display 20 to 3D display and another screen area to 2D display by making the alignment state of the liquid crystal lens different between a part of the screen area and another screen area of the display 20.

[0108] As a result, for a specific person, the information processing apparatus 10 can make the content displayed in 2D and the message (information) displayed in 3D visible, while for other persons, only the content displayed in 2D is visible. Therefore, even during a video conference, the information processing apparatus 10 can transmit a message (information) to only a specific person so that other persons cannot understand it.

[0109] Further, when the information processing apparatus 10 causes the display 20 to 3D-display, the acquired message may be divided into a message (character) to be displayed as a right-eye image and a message (character) to be displayed as a left-eye image and then displayed.

[0110] As a result, when the information processing apparatus 10 3D-displays a message on the display 20, only a person at a stereoscopically visible position can correctly read the message.

[0111] In addition, the information processing apparatus 10 includes a communication unit 11 (an example of a transmission unit) that transmits a captured image captured by a 2D camera 30 or a 3D camera 40 (an example of an imaging device) that captures a captured image including a person existing on the side facing the display 20 to another information processing apparatus 10 connected by communication. Then, the information processing apparatus 10 acquires a person ID of a person selected from among the persons imaged in the captured image in another information processing apparatus 10 that has received the captured image transmitted from the communication unit 11 and a message to be 3D displayed to the person.

[0112] Thereby, the information processing apparatus 10 can 3D display and transmit the message received from the other information processing apparatus 10 so that it is visible only to the person (the person selected by the other information processing apparatus 10) to whom the message is to be conveyed.

[0113] Also, the control method in the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a step in which the control unit 16 acquires a message (an example of information) to be 3D displayed, controls the display 20 to perform 2D display, and when a message (an example of information) to be 3D displayed is acquired, 3D displays the acquired message in a stereoscopically visible manner at a specified position in a part of the screen area of the display 20.

[0114] Thereby, since the control method in the information processing apparatus 10 3D displays a message in a stereoscopically visible manner at a specified position in a part of the screen area of the display 20, it is possible to convey a message (information) to a specific person so that other persons cannot understand it even during the progress of a video conference.

[0115] In addition, the video conferencing system SYS according to the present embodiment includes an information processing device 10B (an example of a first information processing device) that controls the display of a display 20B (an example of a first display) that can switch between 2D display and 3D display, and an information processing device 10A (an example of a second information processing device) that is communicatively connected to the information processing device 10B and can conduct an online video conference. The information processing device 10B acquires position information of the eyes (detection information of the eye positions) of a person present on the side facing the display 20B detected from a captured image of the side facing the display 20B. Further, the information processing device 10B transmits the captured image captured by a 2D camera 30 or a 3D camera 40 (an example of an imaging device) that captures a captured image including a person present on the side facing the display 20B to the information processing device 10A. Also, when the information processing device 10B controls the display 20B to 2D display and acquires a message (an example of information) to be 3D displayed from the information processing device 10A, the acquired message is 3D displayed in a partial screen area of the screen area of the display 20B so as to be stereoscopically viewable at a specified position. The information processing device 10A displays the captured image transmitted from the information processing device 10B on a display 20A (an example of a second display). Further, the information processing device 10A accepts selection of a person to whom a message is to be conveyed from among the persons captured in the captured image displayed on the display 20A and input of a message to be conveyed to the person, and transmits the accepted person ID (an example of person identification information) of the person and the message to be conveyed to the person in association with each other. The information processing device 10B acquires the person ID transmitted from the information processing device 10A and the message to be conveyed to the person as a message to be 3D displayed and the person ID of the person to whom the message is to be conveyed. When the information processing device 10B 3D displays the acquired message so as to be stereoscopically viewable at a specified position, based on the acquired position information of the eyes of the person, the message is 3D visually displayed so as to be stereoscopically viewable at the position of the eyes of the person to whom the message is to be conveyed.

[0116] As a result, when the video conferencing system SYS is executing video conferencing processing online between the information processing device 10A and the information processing device 10B, a person participating on the information processing device 10A side can select an arbitrary person from among the persons participating on the information processing device 10B side via video and transmit a message that the person wishes to convey to the selected person, thereby enabling the message to be conveyed only to the selected person. Therefore, even during the progress of a video conference, the video conferencing system SYS can convey a message (information) only to a specific person so that other persons cannot know.

[0117] In addition, the control method in the video conferencing system SYS according to the present embodiment includes a position information acquisition step in which the control unit 16 in the information processing device 10B acquires the position information of the eyes (detection information of the eye position) of the person present on the side facing the display 20B detected from the captured image of the side facing the display 20B; a first transmission step of transmitting the captured image captured by the 2D camera 30 or 3D camera 40 (an example of an imaging device) that captures the captured image including the person present on the side facing the display 20B to the information processing device 10A; a second display control step in which the control unit 16 in the information processing device 10A causes the captured image transmitted in the first transmission step to be displayed on the display 20A (an example of a second display); a reception step of receiving the selection of the person to whom information is to be conveyed from among the persons captured in the captured image displayed on the display 20A and the input of the message (an example of information) to be conveyed to the person; a second transmission step of associating and transmitting the person ID (an example of the identification information of the person) of the person received in the reception step and the message to be conveyed to the person; an acquisition step in which the control unit 16 in the information processing device 10B acquires, as a message to be 3D displayed, the person ID transmitted in the second transmission step and the message to be conveyed to the person from the information processing device 10A; a first display control step of controlling the display 20B to 2D display and, when the message to be 3D displayed is acquired in the acquisition step, 3D displaying the acquired message in a part of the screen area of the display 20B in a stereoscopic manner with respect to the designated position. And, when the control unit 16 in the information processing device 10B 3D displays the message acquired in the acquisition step in a stereoscopic manner with respect to the designated position in the first display control step, it 3D displays the message in a stereoscopic manner with respect to the eye position of the person to whom the information is to be conveyed based on the detection information of the eye position of the person acquired in the position information acquisition step.

[0118] As a result, in the control method of the video conferencing system SYS, when the information processing device 10A and the information processing device 10B are executing video conferencing processing online, a person participating on the information processing device 10A side can select an arbitrary person from among the persons participating on the information processing device 10B side via video, and by sending a message that the person wishes to convey to the selected person, the message can be conveyed only to the selected person. Therefore, the control method in the video conferencing system SYS can convey a message (information) only to a specific person so that other persons cannot understand it even during the progress of the video conference.

[0119] <Second Embodiment> Next, the second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, when displaying a message in 3D by 3D message notification processing, a part of the screen area of the display 20 was controlled for 3D display and the other screen area was controlled for 2D display, but the 2D display and the 3D display may be alternately switched. In this embodiment, it is the same as the first embodiment in that both 2D display and 3D display are performed, but instead of separating the screen area for 2D display and the screen area for 3D display, the 2D display and the 3D display are alternately switched.

[0120] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of message display using 3D display according to this embodiment. The information processing device 10 controls the display of the display 20 in an interlace method, and alternately switches between 2D display and 3D display in the Odd (odd) field and the Even (even) field in one frame. In the example shown in this FIG. 16, the information processing device 10 controls the Odd field for 2D display and the Even field for 3D display. When the information processing device 10 controls the display 20 for 2D display, it displays the video conference image, and when it controls the display 20 for 3D display, it displays the message.

[0121] Here, when the information processing apparatus 10 controls 3D display, a message to be displayed is shown in a part of the screen area of the display 20 and is 3D displayed so as to be stereoscopically visible with respect to the position of the eyes of the person to whom the message is to be conveyed. This point is the same as that of the first embodiment. For example, the information processing apparatus 10, for 3D display, displays a message to be conveyed to person α (Person-α) so as to be stereoscopically visible with respect to the position of the eyes of person α (Person-α). Also, the information processing apparatus 10, for 3D display, displays a message to be conveyed to person β (Person-β) so as to be stereoscopically visible with respect to the position of the eyes of person β (Person-β).

[0122] Thereby, the information processing apparatus 10 can display a message to be conveyed to person α (Person-α) so as to be visible only to person α (Person-α), and can display a message to be conveyed to person β (Person-β) so as to be visible only to person β (Person-β).

[0123] Note that the information processing apparatus 10 may set the position of a part of the screen area that is controlled for 3D display to an area (such as a background area) excluding the area where the window of the video conference application is displayed (the area where an image is displayed) when controlling 2D display within the screen area of the display 20.

[0124] Also, in this embodiment, the information processing apparatus 10 doubles the frame rate of the display of the display 20 in the first embodiment (for example, 120 Hz), and alternately switches between 2D display and 3D display for odd fields and even fields, so that the resolution and frame rate during 2D display are not decreased. Note that the screen brightness during 2D display becomes half of that in the first embodiment, but since the screen brightness of the display has been increased to a high brightness, it is still visible even at half the brightness.

[0125] As described above, the information processing apparatus 10 according to this embodiment alternately switches the display of the screen area of the display 20 between 2D display and 3D display.

[0126] As a result, in order for the information processing apparatus 10 to alternately switch between a 2D display visible to everyone on the side facing the display 20 and a 3D display visible only to the person in a stereoscopic viewing position, the content displayed in 2D and the message (information) displayed in 3D will be visible to a specific person, while only the content displayed in 2D will be visible to other people. Therefore, by causing the information processing apparatus 10 to 3D-display a message so as to be stereoscopically viewable with respect to the position of a specific person, it is possible to convey the message (information) only to the specific person without the other people knowing even during the progress of a video conference.

[0127] For example, the information processing apparatus 10 controls the display of the display 20 in an interlace method, and alternately switches between 2D display and 3D display in the Odd field and the Even field within one frame.

[0128] As a result, in order for the information processing apparatus 10 to alternately switch between a 2D display visible to everyone on the side facing the display 20 and a 3D display visible only to the person in a stereoscopic viewing position in the Odd field and the Even field, the content displayed in 2D and the message (information) displayed in 3D will be visible to a specific person, while only the content displayed in 2D will be visible to other people. Therefore, by causing the information processing apparatus 10 to 3D-display a message so as to be stereoscopically viewable with respect to the position of a specific person, it is possible to convey the message (information) only to the specific person without the other people knowing even during the progress of a video conference.

[0129] Here, an example in which the Odd field is controlled for 2D display and the Even field is controlled for 3D display has been described, but a configuration in which the Odd field is controlled for 3D display and the Even field is controlled for 2D display may also be used. Further, instead of a configuration in which 2D display and 3D display are alternately switched in the Odd field and the Even field, a configuration in which 2D display and 3D display are alternately switched for each frame may also be used.

[0130] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and designs and the like within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention are also included. For example, the respective configurations described in the above embodiments can be arbitrarily combined.

[0131] In the above embodiment, when there are a plurality of persons participating in the video conference on the message sending side, the text box TB displayed on the display 20 at the time of message input may be 3D-displayed so as to be visible (stereoscopically visible) only to the person who inputs the message. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the message from being visible to persons other than the person who inputs the message among the persons participating in the video conference on the message sending side. Note that an information processing apparatus 10 such as a notebook PC may be prepared for each participating person.

[0132] Also, in the above embodiment, a video conference connecting two bases, base A and base B shown in FIG. 1, has been described as an example. However, the video conference is not limited to two bases and may have three or more bases. Also, the number of persons participating in the video conference at one base is not limited to four, and may be one person, two or three persons, or five or more persons.

[0133] Also, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which, by a process in cooperation with a video conference application, selection of a person to whom a message is to be conveyed is received from among the persons (participants in the video conference) imaged in the captured image of the video conference. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, regardless of the process by the video conference application, a person facing the display 20 may be detected, and an icon generated for each detected person may be displayed on the display 20 as an option for the person to whom the message is to be conveyed. In this way, it is also possible to perform 3D message notification processing without cooperation with the video conference application. In that case, the 3D message notification processing can be applied to any video conference application that does not support the 3D message notification processing.

[0134] In addition, the 2D camera 30, 3D camera 40, and eye camera 50 may be built into the display 20 or the information processing device 10. Further, the 2D camera 30, 3D camera 40, and eye camera 50 do not necessarily have to be installed on the display 20, and may be installed on a wall or ceiling in the space where the video conference is held as long as they can image a person participating in the video conference (the side facing the display 20). When the eye camera 50 detects the position of a person's eyes, based on the positional relationship between the display 20 and the eye camera 50, the position of the eyes detected by the eye camera 50 is corrected to the position of the person's eyes with respect to the display 20.

[0135] In the above embodiment, a configuration example of detecting the position of a person's eyes using the eye camera 50 has been described. However, a configuration may be adopted in which the position of a person's eyes is detected using a captured image captured by the 2D camera 30 or 3D camera 40 instead of the eye camera 50.

[0136] In the above embodiment, when sending a message from the information processing device 10A at base A to base B, the position information of the eyes of a person participating in the video conference at base B is acquired from the information processing device 10B at base B. However, the information processing device 10A at base A may detect the position of a person's eyes from the captured image of the video conference transmitted from the information processing device 10B at base B. For example, by transmitting message information in which the position information indicating the position of the eyes of the person to whom the message is to be conveyed among the positions of the eyes of the person detected by the information processing device 10A is associated with the message to the information processing device 10B, based on the message information received by the information processing device 10B, the message may be 3D displayed in a stereoscopic viewable manner with respect to the position of the closest eye among the positions of the eyes of the person detected on the information processing device 10B side.

[0137] In FIG. 12, the 2D / 3D control unit 15 and the control unit 16 are shown as separate configurations, but the 2D / 3D control unit 15 may be configured to be included in the control unit 16.

[0138] Note that the above-described information processing apparatus 10 has a computer system inside. Then, a program for realizing the functions of each component included in the above-described information processing apparatus 10 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on this recording medium is read into the computer system and executed to perform the processing in each component included in the above-described information processing apparatus 10. Here, "reading the program recorded on the recording medium into the computer system and executing it" includes installing the program in the computer system. The "computer system" as used herein is assumed to include hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Also, the "computer system" may include a plurality of computer devices connected via a network including a communication line such as the Internet, WAN, LAN, or dedicated line. Further, the "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a portable medium such as a flexible disk, magneto-optical disk, ROM, CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built into the computer system. Thus, the recording medium storing the program may be a non-transitory recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

[0139] Also, the recording medium includes an internal or external recording medium provided so as to be accessible from a distribution server for distributing the program. Note that the program may be divided into a plurality of parts, downloaded at different timings, and then combined in each component included in the information processing apparatus 10, or the distribution servers for distributing the divided programs may be different. Further, the "computer-readable recording medium" also includes a volatile memory (RAM) inside a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network and holds the program for a certain period of time. Also, the above program may be for realizing a part of the above-described functions. Further, it may be a so-called difference file (difference program) that can realize the above-described functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0140] Further, some or all of the functions provided in the information processing apparatus 10 in the above-described embodiment may be realized as an integrated circuit such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration). Each function may be individually processorized, or some or all of them may be integrated and processorized. Also, the method of integrating into an integrated circuit is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. Further, when a technology for integrating into an integrated circuit that replaces LSI appears due to the progress of semiconductor technology, an integrated circuit using such technology may be used.

Explanation of Signs

[0141] 10 Information processing apparatus, 11 Communication unit, 12 Storage unit, 13 Input unit, 14 Output unit, 15 2D / 3D control unit, 16 Control unit, 20 Display, 30 2D camera, 40 3D camera, 50 Eye camera, 161 Video conference processing unit, 162 Person information acquisition unit, 163 Message reception unit, 164 Message transmission unit, 165 Message acquisition unit, 166 Position information acquisition unit, 167 Display control unit, SYS Video conference system

Claims

1. An information processing device that controls display of a display that is capable of switching between planar display and stereoscopic display by controlling an orientation state of liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lenses, the information processing device comprising: a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix; and a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged overlying the plurality of display pixels; an information acquisition unit that acquires information to be displayed stereoscopically; a display control unit that controls the display to the planar display and, when the information acquisition unit acquires information for the stereoscopic display, causes the acquired information to be stereoscopically displayed in a part of a screen area of ​​the display so as to be stereoscopically visible at a specified position; Equipped with The display control unit is When the information acquisition unit acquires a plurality of pieces of information to be conveyed to each of a plurality of persons, the information acquisition unit stereoscopically displays each of the plurality of pieces of information acquired by the information acquisition unit in a manner that allows the information to be stereoscopically viewed at a designated position in each of the plurality of partial screen regions. Information processing device.

2. a position information acquisition unit that acquires detection information of an eye position of a person present on the side facing the display, which is detected from a captured image in which the side facing the display is captured; Equipped with The information acquisition unit acquiring the information to be stereoscopically displayed in association with identification information of a person to whom the information is to be conveyed; The display control unit is when the information acquired by the information acquisition unit is stereoscopically displayed so as to be stereoscopically visible with respect to the specified position, the information is stereoscopically displayed so as to be stereoscopically visible with respect to the eye position of a person to whom the information is to be conveyed, based on identification information of the person acquired by the information acquisition unit and detection information of the eye position of the person acquired by the position information acquisition unit; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The display control unit is determining a position of the partial screen area of ​​the screen area of ​​the display that is to be controlled to the stereoscopic display in accordance with the specified position; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

4. The display control unit is determining a position of the part of the screen area of ​​the display that is to be controlled to the stereoscopic display in accordance with a position within the screen area of ​​the content displayed on the display; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. The display control unit is By making the orientation state of the liquid crystal lens different between the partial screen region and the other screen region, the partial screen region is controlled to the stereoscopic display and the other screen region is controlled to the planar display. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. The display control unit is switching the display of the screen area of ​​the display alternately between the monoscopic display and the stereoscopic display; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

7. The display control unit is controlling the display on the display in an interlaced manner, and alternately switching between the monoscopic display and the stereoscopic display between odd and even fields in one frame; The information processing device according to claim 6.

8. The display control unit is When performing the stereoscopic display, the information acquired by the information acquisition unit is divided into information to be displayed as an image for the right eye and information to be displayed as an image for the left eye and then displayed. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

9. a transmission unit that transmits an image captured by an imaging device that captures an image including a person present on the side facing the display to another information processing device that is communicatively connected to the display; Equipped with The information acquisition unit and acquiring, in the other information processing device that has received the captured image transmitted from the transmission unit, identification information of a person selected from the people captured in the captured image and information to be stereoscopically displayed that is to be conveyed to the person. The information processing device according to claim 2 .

10. A video conferencing system comprising: a first information processing device that controls display of a first display, the first display having a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged to overlap the plurality of display pixels, and capable of switching between planar display and stereoscopic display by controlling an orientation state of liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lenses to adjust a direction of light emitted from the plurality of display pixels; and a second information processing device that is communicatively connected to the first information processing device and capable of conducting an online video conferencing, The first information processing device is a position information acquisition unit that acquires detection information of an eye position of a person present on a side facing the first display, the eye position being detected from a captured image in which the side facing the first display is captured; a first transmission unit that transmits an image captured by an imaging device that captures an image including a person present on a side facing the first display to the second information processing device; an information acquisition unit that acquires the information to be stereoscopically displayed from the second information processing device; a first display control unit that controls the first display to the planar display and, when the information acquisition unit acquires information for the stereoscopic display, causes the acquired information to be stereoscopically displayed in a part of a screen area of ​​the first display so as to be stereoscopically visible at a specified position; Equipped with The second information processing device is a second display control unit that causes a second display to display the captured image transmitted from the first transmission unit; a reception unit that receives a selection of a person to whom information is to be communicated from among the people captured in the captured image displayed on the second display, and an input of information to be communicated to the person; a second transmission unit that transmits the identification information of the person received by the reception unit in association with information to be conveyed to the person; Equipped with The information acquisition unit of the first information processing device acquiring, as the information to be stereoscopically displayed and identification information of the person to which the information is to be transmitted, the identification information of the person and the information to be transmitted, the identification information of the person transmitted from the second transmission unit of the second information processing device; The first display control unit of the first information processing device, when the information acquired by the information acquisition unit is stereoscopically displayed so as to be stereoscopically visible with respect to a designated position, the information is stereoscopically displayed so as to be stereoscopically visible with respect to an eye position of a person to whom the information is to be conveyed, based on detection information of an eye position of the person acquired by the position information acquisition unit; Video conferencing system.

11. A control method for an information processing device that controls display of a display that is capable of switching between planar display and stereoscopic display by controlling an orientation state of liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lenses, the display comprising a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged overlying a plurality of the display pixels, the display being capable of switching between planar display and stereoscopic display, the method comprising: The control unit: acquiring information to be displayed stereoscopically; a step of controlling the display to the planar display and, when information for the stereoscopic display is acquired, stereoscopically displaying the acquired information in a part of a screen area of ​​the display so as to be stereoscopically visible with respect to a designated position; a step of stereoscopically displaying, in a case where a plurality of pieces of information to be conveyed to each of a plurality of persons are acquired, each of the acquired pieces of information being stereoscopically displayed in a manner that allows each of the acquired pieces of information to be stereoscopically viewed with respect to a designated position in each of the plurality of partial screen regions; A control method comprising:

12. A control method for a video conference system including a first information processing device that controls display of a first display, the first display having a plurality of display pixels arranged in a matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal lenses arranged so as to overlap a plurality of the display pixels, the first information processing device controlling an orientation state of liquid crystal of the liquid crystal lenses to adjust a direction of light emitted from the plurality of display pixels, thereby being capable of switching between planar display and stereoscopic display, and a second information processing device that is communicatively connected to the first information processing device and capable of conducting an online video conference, the method comprising: A control unit in the first information processing device, a position information acquiring step of acquiring detection information of an eye position of a person present on a side facing the first display, the eye position being detected from a captured image in which the side facing the first display is captured; a first transmission step of transmitting an image captured by an imaging device that captures an image including a person present on a side facing the first display to the second information processing device; A control unit in the second information processing device, a second display control step of displaying the captured image transmitted in the first transmission step on a second display; a receiving step of receiving a selection of a person to whom information is to be communicated from among the people captured in the captured image displayed on the second display, and an input of information to be communicated to the person; a second transmission step of associating the identification information of the person received in the receiving step with information to be conveyed to the person and transmitting the information; A control unit in the first information processing device, an acquisition step of acquiring, from the second information processing device, the person's identification information transmitted in the second transmission step and information to be conveyed to the person as information to be stereoscopically displayed; a first display control step of controlling the first display to the planar display and, when information for the stereoscopic display is acquired in the acquisition step, stereoscopically displaying the acquired information in a part of a screen area of ​​the first display so as to be stereoscopically visible at a specified position; Including, A control unit in the first information processing device, In the first display control step, when the information acquired in the acquisition step is stereoscopically displayed so as to be stereoscopically visible with respect to a designated position, the information is stereoscopically displayed so as to be stereoscopically visible with respect to an eye position of a person to whom the information is to be conveyed, based on detection information of an eye position of the person acquired in the position information acquisition step. Control methods.

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