Photo location registration system

Abstract

To provide a technology that reduces a possibility of making a mistake in designating an imaging direction at an imaging point.SOLUTION: An imaging point registration system comprises: a reception unit that accepts designation of an imaging point and an imaging direction at the imaging point; a direction specifying unit that specifies a direction in which a road section including the imaging point extends; a guide unit that, if there is a difference between the imaging direction and the direction in which the road section including the imaging point extends, provides guidance that there is a difference therebetween; and a registration unit that registers the imaging direction specified again according to the guidance in association with the imaging point.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a photography location registration system. [Background technology]

[0002] It is known that images captured by vehicles are collected by information centers and used for various purposes. Patent Document 1 describes a method in which an in-vehicle camera captures images at a shooting location and in a shooting direction specified by the information center. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-315069 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the case of an in-vehicle camera with a fixed shooting direction, if a shooting direction other than the direction in which shooting is possible at the specified shooting location is specified, there is a problem in that the intended image cannot be obtained. The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technique for preventing mistakes in specifying the shooting direction at a shooting location. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the photography location registration system includes a reception unit that receives the specification of the photography location and the photography direction at the photography location, a direction specification unit that specifies the direction in which the road section including the photography location extends, a guidance unit that notifies the user, if there is a difference between the photography direction and the direction in which the road section including the photography location extends, and a registration unit that registers the photography direction that has been re-specified in accordance with the guidance in association with the photography location.

[0006] That is, the photography location registration system notifies the user when there is a difference between the photography direction at a specified photography location and the direction of the road section including the photography location. Therefore, the photography location registration system can give the user an opportunity to reconsider whether the specified photography direction is as intended. If the difference indicates that the photography direction is not as intended, the user can redesignate the photography direction. The photography location registration system registers the redesignated photography direction in association with the photography location. Therefore, the photography location registration system can reduce the possibility that the user will make a mistake in designating the photography direction at the photography location. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a photography location registration system. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a shooting location registration screen. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart of a photography location registration process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Here, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order. (1) Configuration of the photography location registration system: (2) Shooting location registration process: (3) Other embodiments:

[0009] (1) Configuration of the photography location registration system: FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a photography location registration system 10 according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the photography location registration system 10 is a system that allows a road maintenance manager to register photography locations for having a drive recorder capture images of road repair-needing sections. The captured images are shared with road repair workers and are used to identify repair-needing sections near the photography location and to check their status. In this embodiment, the photography location registration system 10 is configured as a server computer, and is capable of communicating with both an in-vehicle system 50 of a vehicle equipped with a drive recorder and an administrator terminal 60 used by a road repair manager. There may be multiple vehicles equipped with the in-vehicle system 50. There may also be multiple administrator terminals 60.

[0010] When the administrator operates the administrator terminal 60 to register a photography location or the like in the photography location registration system 10, the photography location registration system 10 distributes photography instruction information including the photography location or the like to the in-vehicle system 50. The in-vehicle system 50 is configured to take a photograph based on the photography instruction information when the vehicle passes through the photography location.

[0011] The in-vehicle system 50 includes a communication unit 50a, a positioning unit 50b, a control unit 50c, and a camera 50d. The communication unit 50a is a communication circuit for communicating with other devices such as the photography location registration system 10. The positioning unit 50b includes a GNSS receiver, a vehicle speed sensor, and a gyro sensor. The GNSS receiver is a device that receives GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signals, receives radio waves from navigation satellites, and outputs signals for calculating the current location of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor outputs a signal corresponding to the rotational speed of the wheels of the vehicle. The gyro sensor detects the angular acceleration of the vehicle when it turns in a horizontal plane, and outputs a signal corresponding to the orientation of the vehicle.

[0012] The control unit 50c includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and can execute programs stored in a recording medium or ROM (not shown). The control unit 50c acquires the current location of the vehicle based on a self-contained navigation trajectory, which is a trajectory of positions estimated based on signals output from the vehicle speed sensor and the gyro sensor, and on signals output from the GNSS receiver. The control unit 50c periodically acquires the current location of the vehicle. The control unit 50c generates a traveling trajectory of the vehicle by associating the acquired current location of the vehicle with the time. The control unit 50c associates the traveling trajectory with the ID of the in-vehicle system 50, and transmits the traveling trajectory to the photography location registration system 10 at a predetermined timing (for example, when the vehicle stops or when the ACC is turned off).

[0013] The camera 50d is attached to the vehicle so that its imaging range includes the front side in the vehicle's traveling direction. In this embodiment, the camera 50d does not have a function for automatically changing the imaging direction under the control of the control unit 50c, and the camera 50d is fixed to the vehicle so that its imaging direction is the front side in the vehicle's traveling direction. Photographing instruction information distributed from the photography location registration system 10 is recorded on a recording medium (not shown). The photographing instruction information includes information indicating a photographing location registered by a user (administrator) of the photography location registration system 10 and the photographing direction at the photographing location. When the vehicle passes a photographing location indicated by the photographing instruction information, the control unit 50c determines whether the difference between the photographing direction indicated by the photographing instruction information and the traveling direction is within a predetermined threshold, and if it is within the threshold, causes the camera 50d to capture an image. The control unit 20 associates image data indicating the captured image with the photographing location, photographing direction, and photographing time, and transmits the image data to the photography location registration system 10. In this embodiment, if the difference between the shooting direction indicated by the shooting instruction information and the vehicle's traveling direction is not within a threshold, the control unit 50c will not perform shooting. Therefore, if the direction in which the road extends (approximately parallel to the traveling direction of the vehicle when traveling on that road) and the shooting direction at the shooting point on that road do not match, a photographed image at that shooting point will not be obtained.

[0014] The administrator terminal 60 is configured with a PC, tablet, smartphone, etc. The administrator terminal 60 has a communication unit 60a, a user I / F unit 60b, and a control unit 60c equipped with a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and can execute programs stored in a recording medium or ROM (not shown) using the control unit 60c. The communication unit 60a has a circuit for communicating with other devices, and the control unit 20 can communicate with the photography location registration system 10 via the communication unit 60a. The user I / F unit 60b inputs operations by the user (administrator) via input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, and provides various information to the user via output devices such as a display.

[0015] The administrator displays the photography location registration interface provided by the photography location registration system 10 on the display of the user I / F unit 60b, and uses a mouse or the like to register the photography location and the photography direction at that photography location, etc. This information is sent from the administrator terminal 60 to the photography location registration system 10 and saved in the recording medium 30 of the photography location registration system 10 as photography instruction information 30b.

[0016] The photography location registration system 10 includes a control unit 20, a recording medium 30, and a communication unit 41. The communication unit 41 includes a communication circuit for communicating with other devices, and the photography location registration system 10 can communicate with the in-vehicle system 50 and the photography location registration system 10. The control unit 20 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and can execute programs recorded in the ROM or the recording medium 30. When the control unit 20 receives a travel trajectory transmitted from the in-vehicle system 50, the control unit 20 stores the travel trajectory in the recording medium 30 in association with an ID that identifies the in-vehicle system 50 (travel trajectory 30a). The travel trajectory 30a is a collection of data in which the vehicle's position is associated with the date and time when the vehicle was located at that position. The travel trajectory 30a is the travel trajectory of the vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle system 50, and in this embodiment, is used to identify the direction in which a road section extends.

[0017] Furthermore, when the control unit 20 receives information such as a shooting location and a shooting direction from the administrator terminal 60, it stores the information as shooting instruction information 30b in the recording medium 30. The shooting instruction information 30b includes information indicating the shooting location and the shooting direction at the shooting location. The control unit 20 distributes the shooting instruction information 30b to the in-vehicle system 50. When image data captured by the in-vehicle system 50 based on the shooting instruction information 30b is transmitted to the shooting location registration system 10, the control unit 20 stores image data 30c in the recording medium 30 in association with the shooting instruction information 30b.

[0018] The control unit 20 executes the photography location registration program 21 to provide the administrator terminal 60 with a registration interface for obtaining an image taken at a specified photography location in a specified photography direction. The photography location registration program 21 includes a reception unit 21a, a direction identification unit 21b, a guidance unit 21c, and a registration unit 21d. The reception unit 21a functions to allow the control unit 20 to receive designations of photography locations and photography directions at the photography locations. That is, the control unit 20 displays the registration interface on the display of the administrator terminal 60 and transmits control data to the administrator terminal 60 for receiving operations by the administrator.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a registration interface. The registration interface includes a map. The control unit 20 acquires map information of the area subject to road maintenance management from a map server (not shown) and displays it on the display of the administrator terminal 60 as a map within the registration interface. The administrator can select any position on the road within the map as the shooting start point by operating a mouse or the like on the administrator terminal 60. In the example of FIG. 2, an icon 100 on the road indicates the position and shooting direction of the shooting point selected by the administrator. In the example of FIG. 2, the arrow of the icon 100 points upward in the figure. In other words, the icon 100 indicates a state in which it is specified that a photograph should be taken at the shooting point indicated by the position of the icon 100 when a vehicle moves from bottom to top on the road on which the icon 100 is set.

[0020] The registration interface also includes a direction designation unit 102 for designating the shooting direction at a shooting location designated by the administrator, an investigation item selection unit 101 for the shooting location, and a registration button 103. The administrator designates a shooting location by setting the icon 100 at a location on a road on the map where the administrator wants the shooting location to be. The administrator can then rotate the direction of the arrow of the icon 100 (i.e., the shooting direction) by sliding the direction designation unit 102 left or right on the map. For example, the arrow of the icon 100 can be rotated 360 degrees clockwise by moving the direction designation unit 102 from the left end to the right end of the slider. The administrator can also select a desired item from the pull-down list in the investigation item selection unit 101. After designating the investigation items and shooting direction for the shooting location, the administrator selects the registration button 103, and the shooting location, shooting direction, and investigation items are transmitted from the administrator terminal 60 to the shooting location registration system 10. The control unit 20 accepts the shooting location and shooting direction transmitted from the administrator terminal 60 as the administrator's designation.

[0021] As described above, the camera 50d of the in-vehicle system 50 is attached to the vehicle facing forward in the direction of travel of the vehicle. If the administrator unintentionally specifies a shooting direction that differs by more than a threshold value from the direction in which the road section in which the shooting point is set extends, the in-vehicle system 50 cannot capture images in the specified shooting direction at the specified shooting point. Therefore, the control unit 20 is configured to determine whether the shooting direction at the specified shooting point matches the direction in which the road section including the shooting point extends.

[0022] Using the function of the direction identification unit 21b, the control unit 20 identifies the direction in which the road section including the image capture location extends. That is, the control unit 20 first identifies the direction in which the road section including the image capture location extends to determine whether the image capture direction at the specified image capture location matches the direction in which the road section including the image capture location extends. In this embodiment, map information is not recorded in the recording medium 30 of the image capture location registration system 10, and the direction in which the road section including the image capture location extends is identified without using map information. Specifically, the control unit 20 identifies the direction in which the road section including the image capture location extends based on the traveling direction of the vehicle indicated by the traveling trajectory of the vehicle that passed near the image capture location. Therefore, the control unit 20 refers to the traveling trajectory 30a and identifies the traveling trajectory that passes within a predetermined distance of the specified image capture location. The control unit 20 identifies the road section of the traveling trajectory that is closest to the specified image capture location and identifies the direction in which the road section extends. Specifically, the control unit 20 identifies the line segment that is closest to the specified image capture location among the line segments connecting the points that make up the traveling trajectory. The control unit 20 then identifies the direction in which the line segment extends. In this embodiment, the direction in which the line segment extends indicates the direction in which the road section extends (for example, extending north to south) and the direction in which it is estimated that it is possible to travel in that road section (available travel direction). With regard to the latter, for example, if multiple line segments closest to the image capture point are identified from multiple travel trajectories, and the available travel directions indicated by the multiple line segments include some that are approximately the same and others that are approximately 180 degrees different, it can be estimated that the image capture point has been specified on a road section that is passable in both directions.

[0023] Using the function of the guidance unit 21c, the control unit 20 notifies the administrator of the difference between the shooting direction and the direction of the road section including the shooting location when there is a difference. In this embodiment, the control unit 20 determines whether the difference between the specified shooting direction and the direction of the road section including the shooting location is within a threshold. If the difference between the two is greater than the threshold, the control unit 20 notifies the administrator that there is a difference between the two. When providing this guidance, the control unit 20 also suggests setting the direction of the road section including the shooting location as the shooting direction. Specifically, the control unit 20 displays a message asking whether to set the direction identified by the direction identification unit 21b as the shooting direction, along with buttons for selecting "Accept" and "Reject" on the display of the administrator terminal 60. In this embodiment, for example, if only one possible travel direction has been estimated from the driving trajectory, it is determined whether the difference between the specified shooting direction and the possible travel direction is greater than a threshold. If the difference is greater than the threshold, a button for accepting the setting of the possible travel direction as the shooting direction and a button for rejecting the setting (selecting the originally specified direction) are displayed. Furthermore, for example, if the driving trajectory indicates that the road section is passable in both directions, even if the specified shooting direction substantially coincides with one of the possible travel directions, the difference between the specified shooting direction and the other possible travel direction is greater than a threshold, and the control unit 20 determines that the difference is not within the threshold. In the case of a road section that is passable in both directions, the control unit 20 may be configured to present both possible travel directions and allow the user to select either of the two possible travel directions or the originally specified direction. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the control unit 20 may be configured to determine that there is no difference between the originally specified shooting direction and the direction of the road section if the difference between the initially specified shooting direction and either of the two possible travel directions is within a threshold.

[0024] Using the function of the registration unit 21d, the control unit 20 registers the shooting direction re-specified in response to the guidance in association with the shooting location. That is, if the manager selects acceptance, the control unit 20 receives a notification to that effect from the manager terminal 60 and automatically re-specifies the shooting direction originally manually specified by the manager to the direction specified by the direction specification unit 21b. The control unit 20 then registers the re-specified shooting direction in the recording medium 30 as shooting instruction information 30b, associating it with the shooting location and the investigation item. Note that if the manager does not select acceptance, the control unit 20 receives a notification to that effect from the manager terminal 60 and registers the shooting direction originally specified by the manager in the recording medium 30 as shooting instruction information 30b, associating it with the shooting location and the investigation item.

[0025] As described above, according to this embodiment, the photography location registration system 10 can notify the user when there is a difference between the photography direction at a specified photography location and the direction of the road section including the photography location. Therefore, the photography location registration system 10 can provide the user with an opportunity to reconsider whether the specified photography direction is as intended. Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the direction of the road section including the photography location is proposed as the photography direction and accepted, the newly specified photography direction can be automatically registered in association with the photography location, allowing the user to easily re-specify the photography direction. If the photography direction is re-specified when the difference is not as intended, the photography location registration system registers the newly specified photography direction in association with the photography location. Therefore, the photography location registration system can reduce the possibility that the user will make a mistake in specifying the photography direction at the photography location.

[0026] (2) Shooting location registration process: Next, the photography location registration process executed by the control unit 20 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The photography location registration process is executed when a photography location registration interface is displayed on the display of the administrator terminal 60 in accordance with an administrator's operation on the administrator terminal 60. When the photography location registration process starts, the control unit 20 uses the function of the reception unit 21a to receive the photography location and photography direction specified by the user (step S100). That is, when the user operates a mouse or the like to specify the photography location, photography direction, and investigation items, and selects the registration button 103, the control unit 20 receives the specified photography location and photography direction.

[0027] Next, the control unit 20 determines whether or not there is a travel trajectory near the photographing point by using the function of the direction identification unit 21b (step S105). That is, the control unit 20 determines whether or not there is a travel trajectory that passes within a predetermined distance of the photographing point accepted in step S100 by referring to the travel trajectory 30a.

[0028] If it is determined in step S105 that a travel trajectory exists near the photographing point, the control unit 20 uses the function of the direction identification unit 21b to identify the nearest road section from the travel trajectory (step S110), and identifies the direction in which the road section extends from the vehicle's traveling direction indicated by the travel trajectory (step S115). That is, the control unit 20 identifies the line segment that is closest to the specified photographing point among the line segments connecting the sequence of points that make up the travel trajectory. Then, the control unit 20 identifies the direction in which the line segment extends.

[0029] Next, the control unit 20 determines whether the shooting direction and the direction in which the road section extends match (step S120) using the function of the guidance unit 21c. That is, the control unit 20 determines whether the difference between the shooting direction acquired in step S100 and the direction in which the road section extends acquired in step S115 is within a threshold value.

[0030] If it is determined in step S120 that the two do not match, the control unit 20, using the function of the guidance unit 21c, suggests to the user that the direction in which the road section extends be set as the shooting direction (step S125). That is, the control unit 20 displays, on the display of the administrator terminal 60, a message asking whether the direction identified in step S115 should be set as the shooting direction, and buttons for selecting "Accept" and "Reject."

[0031] Next, the control unit 20 determines whether the user has accepted the proposal using the function of the registration unit 21d (step S130). That is, if the accept button is selected, the control unit 20 considers that the user has accepted the proposal, and if the reject button is selected, the control unit 20 considers that the user has not accepted the proposal. If it is determined in step S130 that the user has accepted the proposal, the control unit 20 uses the function of the registration unit 21d to set the direction in which the road section extends as the shooting direction and register it in association with the shooting location (step S135). That is, the control unit 20 automatically re-specifies the shooting direction that was initially manually specified by the administrator to the direction identified in step S115. The control unit 20 then associates the re-specified shooting direction with the shooting location and the survey item, and registers them in the recording medium 30 as shooting instruction information 30b.

[0032] If it is not determined in step S130 that consent has been given, or if it is determined in step S120 that the two match, or if it is not determined in step S105 that a driving track exists near the shooting location, the control unit 20 uses the function of the registration unit 21d to register the user-specified shooting direction in association with the shooting location (step S140).

[0033] That is, if it is determined in step S105 that no travel trajectory exists near the specified photographing location, in this embodiment, the direction of the road section including the specified photographing location cannot be identified based on the past vehicle travel trajectory. Therefore, the control unit 20 adopts the photographing direction designated by the user as is, associates it with the photographing location and the investigation item, and registers it as photographing instruction information 30b. If it is determined in step S120 that the two match, there is no difference between the two, so the control unit 20 adopts the photographing direction designated by the user as is, associates it with the photographing location and the investigation item, and registers it as photographing instruction information 30b. If it is not determined in step S130 that the user accepted the proposal, it is assumed that the user intentionally designated a direction that differs from the direction of the road section, and the control unit 20 adopts the photographing direction designated by the user as is, associates it with the photographing location and the investigation item, and registers it as photographing instruction information 30b. In this case, for example, an operator may manually operate a camera such as a smartphone at the specified photographing location to capture an image in the photographing direction.

[0034] (3) Other embodiments: The above embodiment is one example for carrying out the present invention, and various other embodiments can be adopted. At least some of the reception unit 21a, direction identification unit 21b, guidance unit 21c, and registration unit 21d that constitute the photography location registration system may be separated into multiple devices. For example, the functions of the direction identification unit 21b and guidance unit 21c may be realized by the administrator terminal 60. Of course, some of the configurations of the above embodiment may be omitted, and the order of processing may be changed or omitted.

[0035] 3 is executed by the photography location registration system 10, this processing may also be executed by the administrator terminal 60. In this case, the photography location registration system 10 acquires the photography location and photography direction determined in steps S135 and S140 from the administrator terminal 60 and registers them as photography instruction information 30b in the recording medium 30. In addition, the traveling trajectory 30a referenced in the processing from steps S105 to S115 is transmitted to the administrator terminal 60, and processing is performed in the administrator terminal 60 based on the traveling trajectory 30a.

[0036] The direction in which the road section including the imaging point extends may be identified based on map information. The map information includes node data indicating the positions of nodes set on the road on which the vehicle travels, shape interpolation point data indicating the positions of shape interpolation points for identifying the shape of the road between the nodes, link data indicating the connections between the nodes, and facility data indicating the positions of facilities on the road and in its vicinity. The link data also includes information indicating possible travel directions (two-way, one-way, etc.). When a point on a road on the map is selected, a link including the point may be identified based on the link data and shape interpolation point data. The direction in which the road extends near the specified imaging point and the possible travel directions may also be identified based on the link data and shape interpolation point data.

[0037] Furthermore, the guidance unit may be configured to notify the user of a difference between the shooting direction and the direction of the road section including the shooting point when the difference is detected. If the user is notified of the difference but the difference is not as intended, the guidance unit may be configured to allow the user to manually re-specify the shooting direction.

[0038] The photographing location may be a roadway, a bicycle road, or a sidewalk. A sidewalk may be a pedestrian road that is separated from the roadway by a curb or the like and has a difference in elevation from the roadway, or a pedestrian road that has no difference in elevation from the roadway. The subject of the photograph may be, for example, a pothole (sinkhole), a crack, deteriorated road paint, etc. Note that the subject of the photograph does not have to be the road surface, and may also be, for example, a structure such as a sign, a guardrail, or a curb.

[0039] The camera 50d of the in-vehicle system 50 may be attached to the vehicle so as to capture an image of the rear side in the traveling direction of the vehicle. The positioning unit 50b of the in-vehicle system 50 may be a GNSS positioning unit built into a camera or a drive recorder.

[0040] The photography location registration system can be used in various cases, such as when an on-board camera takes images in the direction of the road section that includes the photography location, and can be used for purposes other than road repair. For example, this photography location registration system can be used to register a location where an on-board camera takes images of road congestion, or a location where an on-board camera takes images of frozen road surfaces, snow accumulation, or flooding.

[0041] Furthermore, the techniques of the present invention can also be applied as programs or methods. The above-described systems, programs, and methods may be realized as standalone devices or may be realized using components shared with various parts of a vehicle, and thus include various aspects. They can also be modified as appropriate, such as being partly software and partly hardware. Furthermore, the invention can also be realized as a recording medium for a program that controls the system. Of course, the recording medium for the program may be a magnetic recording medium or a semiconductor memory, and any recording medium developed in the future can be considered in the same way. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 10...Photography location registration system, 20...Control unit, 21...Photography location registration program, 21a...Reception unit, 21b...Direction identification unit, 21c...Guidance unit, 21d...Registration unit, 30...Recording medium, 30a...Driving trajectory, 30b...Photography instruction information, 30c...Image data, 41...Communication unit, 50...In-vehicle system, 50a...Communication unit, 50b...Positioning unit, 50c...Control unit, 50d...Camera, 60...Administrator terminal, 60a...Communication unit, 60b...User I / F unit, 60c...Control unit, 100...Icon (Photography location), 101...Survey item selection unit, 102...Direction designation unit, 103...Registration button

Claims

1. a reception unit that receives a designation of a photographing location and a photographing direction at the photographing location; a direction specifying unit that specifies the direction in which a road section including the photographing point extends; a guidance unit that, when there is a difference between the photographing direction and the direction in which the road section including the photographing point extends, notifies the user that there is a difference; a registration unit that registers the photographing direction re-specified in response to the guidance in association with the photographing location; A photography location registration system comprising:

2. the direction identification unit identifies the direction in which the road section including the image capturing point extends based on a traveling direction of a vehicle indicated by a travel locus of the vehicle passing near the image capturing point; 2. The photography location registration system according to claim 1.

3. The guidance unit suggests that the direction in which a road section including the photography point extends be set as the photography direction.

3. The photography location registration system according to claim 1.

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