Image capture device, image capture device control method, and program

Abstract

To suppress restriction of a degree of freedom for changing an imaging direction when further changing the imaging direction after controlling the imaging direction to reach to a target position.SOLUTION: An imaging apparatus includes: imaging means for capturing an image; control means for executing processing for controlling at least any one of panning and tilting in order to control an imaging direction of the imaging means; acquisition means for acquiring a current position of the imaging direction; and identifying means for identifies a difference between the current position of the imaging direction acquired by the acquisition means and a target position, which is a target to be reached in the imaging direction. The control means determines a direction in which the imaging direction is driven in accordance with the difference identified by the identifying means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for controlling an imaging device. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a technology for controlling the imaging direction by driving at least one of the pan and tilt of an imaging device that captures an image. Among such technologies, there is a technology for controlling the imaging direction from the current imaging direction position to a target position that is a target to be reached so that an image of a location intended by a user can be captured after controlling the imaging direction.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a method of determining the shortest path for rotating an imaging unit from a current angular position to a target angular position, and performing pan / tilt driving along the determined shortest path. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-186604 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In cases where the imaging direction is driven along the shortest route to a target position as in Patent Document 1, the imaging direction may be stopped near the pan or tilt drive end even though the target position is reached because the shortest route has been selected. In this case, if the user wants to drive the pan or tilt further, the degree of freedom to change the imaging direction may be limited because the drive end is close to being reached.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention aims to prevent the degree of freedom in changing the imaging direction from being limited when the imaging direction is further changed after being controlled to reach a target position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the imaging device in this embodiment has, for example, the following configuration: an imaging unit that captures an image, a control unit that executes processing to control at least one of pan and tilt in order to control the imaging direction of the imaging unit, an acquisition unit that acquires a current position in the imaging direction, and an identification unit that identifies a drive amount to the target position based on the current position in the imaging direction acquired by the acquisition unit and a target position that is a target to be reached in the imaging direction, and the control unit When the difference specified by the specifying means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the direction of the longest route among a plurality of routes from the current position of the imaging direction acquired by the acquiring means to the target position is set as the direction for driving the imaging direction. The imaging direction control do. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, when the imaging direction is controlled to reach a target position and then the imaging direction is further changed, it is possible to prevent the degree of freedom in changing the imaging direction from being limited. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system configuration. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external view of an imaging device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of an imaging device and a camera platform. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for controlling an imaging direction. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for controlling an imaging direction. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for controlling an imaging direction. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a coordinate system for controlling an imaging direction. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of each device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the configurations shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not limited to the configurations shown in the drawings.

[0011] (Embodiment 1) 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of this embodiment, which includes an image capturing device 1000, a camera platform 2000, a client device 3000, and a network 4000.

[0012] The imaging device 1000 and the client device 3000 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network 4000. The network 4000 is realized by a plurality of routers, switches, cables, etc. that comply with a communication standard such as ETHERNET (registered trademark).

[0013] The network 4000 may be realized by the Internet, a wired LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the like.

[0014] In response to a request from the client device 3000, the imaging device 1000 can transmit captured image data and the like to the client device 3000 via the network 4000. The imaging device 1000 may also actively transmit image data and the like to the client device 3000 to which it is connected in advance. Here, the client device 3000 is an information processing device configured by a general terminal device such as a personal computer (PC), a smartphone, or a tablet PC. The client device 3000 controls the imaging direction and image quality of the imaging device 1000. The client device 3000 may also directly control the imaging direction of the camera platform 2000. The client device 3000 may also be a dedicated controller device for operating the imaging device 1000 and the camera platform 2000. Additionally, the client device 3000 may be a control device that controls settings and controls of the imaging device 1000, such as focus and white balance, and controls the camera platform 2000.

[0015] The camera platform 2000 is a device that controls the pan and tilt of the imaging device 1000 via the imaging device 1000 in response to a request from the client device 3000. Communication between the imaging device 1000 and the camera platform 2000 may be achieved using EIA (Electronic Industries Association) communication standards RS-232C, RS-422A, or RS-485, or other communication standards. The imaging device 1000 and the camera platform 2000 may be provided in the same housing; in other words, the imaging device 1000 itself may have a drive unit for controlling the imaging direction.

[0016] 2 and 3, the imaging device 1000 and the camera platform 2000 will be described. FIG. 2 is an example of an external view of the imaging device 1000 and the camera platform 2000 in this embodiment. The imaging device 1000 is a device that captures images, and can change the zoom value by controlling a lens driver 1001. The camera platform 2000 in this embodiment can change the imaging direction of the imaging device 1000 to a pan direction (horizontal direction) 2003 and a tilt direction (vertical direction) 2004 by controlling a pan driver 2001 and a tilt driver 2002.

[0017] Next, the functions of the imaging device 1000 and the camera platform 2000 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Of the functional blocks of the imaging device 1000 according to this embodiment, the functions of the image processing unit 1012, lens control unit 1013, storage unit 1014, communication unit 1015, system control unit 1016, etc. are realized as follows: That is, the functions are realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 800 of the imaging device 1000 executing a computer program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 820 of the imaging device 1000, which will be described later with reference to Fig. 8.

[0018] The imaging unit 1011 is composed of an imaging element (not shown), such as a CCD (charge coupled device) sensor or a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensor. The imaging unit 1011 photoelectrically converts an object image formed through a lens to generate an electrical signal. The image processing unit 1012 performs image processing, such as converting the electrical signal photoelectrically converted by the imaging unit 1011 into a digital signal and compression encoding, to generate image data. Note that the number of image data generated is not limited to one; multiple image data sets with different resolutions and video qualities may be generated simultaneously. The generated image data is also transmitted to the system control unit 1016. The lens driving unit 1001 is composed of a driving system for a focus lens and a zoom lens, and its operation is controlled by the lens control unit 1013. The lens control unit 1013 controls the lens driving unit 1001 based on instructions transmitted from the system control unit 1016. The image processing unit 1012 also transmits focus movement information and zoom movement information to the system control unit 1016.

[0019] The storage unit 1014 stores various setting information, etc. The system control unit 1016 analyzes the transmitted camera control command and performs processing according to the command. For example, the system control unit 1016 instructs the image processing unit 1012 to adjust image quality and instructs the lens control unit 1013 to control zoom and focus, according to the acquired camera control command. The system control unit 1016 also acquires image data generated by the image processing unit 1012 and transmits it to the communication unit 1017. Furthermore, the system control unit 1016 converts the pan / tilt control command received by the communication unit 1015 into a camera platform control command and transmits it to the communication unit 1015.

[0020] The communication unit 1015 transmits image data transmitted from the system control unit 1016 to the client device 3000. It also receives various setting commands and camera control commands transmitted from the client device 3000 and transmits them to the system control unit 1016. It also transmits responses of the imaging device 1000 to commands transmitted from the client device 3000 to the client device 3000. It also transmits pan head control commands transmitted from the system control unit 1016 to the communication unit 2012 of the pan head 2000.

[0021] Next, a description will be given of the functional blocks of the pan head 2000. Note that the functions of the functional blocks of the pan head 2000 according to this embodiment are realized as follows: That is, the functions are realized by the CPU 800 of the pan head 2000 executing a computer program stored in the ROM 820 of the pan head 2000, which will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0022] The pan drive unit 2001 of the camera platform 2000 is composed of a mechanical drive system that performs panning and a motor that serves as a drive source, and drives to control rotational drive for rotating the imaging direction of the imaging device 1000 in a pan direction 2003. The operation of the pan drive unit 2001 is controlled by a system control unit 2011. The tilt drive unit 2002 is composed of a mechanical drive system that performs tilting and a motor that serves as a drive source, and drives to control rotational drive for rotating the imaging direction of the imaging device 1000 in a tilt direction 2004. The operation of the tilt drive unit 2002 is controlled by the system control unit 2011.

[0023] The system control unit 2011 analyzes the transmitted camera head control command and instructs the pan driver 2001 and tilt driver 2002 to perform pan and tilt operations. It also obtains current angle data of the pan driver 2001 and tilt driver 2002 and transmits it to the communication unit 2012.

[0024] The communication unit 2012 transmits a pan head control command transmitted from the communication unit 1015 of the imaging device 1000 to the system control unit 2011. The communication unit 2012 also receives current angle data of the pan driver 2001 and tilt driver 2002 transmitted from the system control unit 2011 and transmits the data to the communication unit 1015 of the imaging device 1000. Note that the imaging device 1000 and the pan head 2000 may be housed in the same housing; in other words, the imaging device 1000 may have the pan driver 2001 and the tilt driver 2002.

[0025] The control methods for the camera platform can be broadly divided into two types. The first is position specification control, in which a position in the pan direction 2003 and a position in the tilt direction 2004 are specified, and the imaging direction is controlled to be the specified position in the pan direction 2003 and the tilt direction 2004. The second is direction specification control, in which the operating direction of the imaging direction is specified. In direction specification control, the camera platform 2000 continues to drive at least one of the pan driving unit 2001 and the tilt driving unit 2002 so that the imaging direction is controlled in the specified direction until a stop command is sent.

[0026] In this embodiment, when position specification control is being executed on the camera platform 2000, if the target position is farther away from the current position by a predetermined value or more, the position specification control is replaced with direction specification control. In position specification control, the positions of the pan direction 2003 and tilt direction 2004 are specified, and the pan drive unit 2001 and tilt drive unit 2002 of the camera platform 2000 are driven to the specified position (target position), and the drive is stopped when the target position is reached. In direction specification control, the rotation directions of the pan drive unit 2001 and tilt drive unit 2002 are specified and controlled, and the camera platform controlled by direction specification control continues to rotate in the specified direction until a stop process is executed to stop the drive.

[0027] Here, with reference to FIG. 7, a coordinate system used when controlling the imaging direction in this embodiment will be described. While FIG. 7 describes the coordinate system in the pan direction 2003, a similar coordinate system is assumed to exist for the tilt direction 2004. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the coordinate system of the camera platform 2000 when, with respect to the pan direction 2003, one drive end is set to "-200 degrees," the other drive end is set to "+200 degrees," and the front is set to 0 degrees. That is, the camera platform 2000 in this embodiment can be driven in the pan direction 2003 in a range from -200 degrees to +200 degrees. FIG. 7(a) is a diagram showing the camera platform 2000, which can rotate in the pan direction in a range from -200 degrees to +200 degrees, with the front set to 0 degrees, and the imaging device 1000, as viewed from directly above. This diagram shows the case where the current position of the pan direction 2003 of the imaging device 1000 is -90 degrees. A target position 7000 is a target position specified by a position specification command requesting position specification control. As shown in FIG. 7( a), +170 degrees and −190 degrees in the pan direction 2003 are different parameters held by the camera platform 2000, but represent the same position in terms of the imaging direction of the imaging device 1000. FIG. 7( b) is a number line diagram illustrating the angles in the pan direction 2003 of the camera platform 2000 shown in FIG. 7( a). A movable range 7001 of the camera platform 2000 is the range within which the camera platform can physically rotate. A limited range 7002 is the range within which a target position can be specified by a position specification command on the client 3000 side within the movable range 7001 of the camera platform. A current position 7003 is the angle “−90 degrees” in the current pan direction 2003 of the imaging direction of the imaging device 1000. When the target position 7000 shown in FIG. 7( a) is plotted on the number line shown in FIG. 7( b), there is a target position 7000a corresponding to +170 degrees and a target position 7000b corresponding to −190 degrees. For example, assume that the client 3000 transmits a position designation command to the imaging device 1000, requesting position designation control so that the imaging direction reaches the target position 7000. In this case, the system control unit 1016 of the imaging device 1000 in this embodiment identifies the difference between the current position 7003 and the target position 7000, and controls the imaging direction depending on whether the identified difference is less than 180 degrees.If the difference is less than 180 degrees, the imaging direction is controlled by position specification control so as to take the shortest route from the current position to the target position indicated by the position specification command requesting position specification control. On the other hand, if the difference is 180 degrees or more, even if there are two routes from the current position to the target position, the longest route is selected by direction specification control to control the imaging direction. For example, assume that the imaging direction is positioned near the drive end, such as between -180 degrees and -200 degrees or between +180 degrees and +200 degrees, to reach the target position. In this case, even if the user further controls the imaging direction from that position by manual operation, the degree of freedom in controlling the imaging direction is limited because it is near the drive end. In contrast, as described above, in this embodiment, the direction in which the imaging direction is controlled is adaptively determined according to the difference between the current position and the target position, thereby preventing the imaging direction from being positioned near the drive end when reaching the target position. In other words, it is possible to suppress a reduction in the degree of freedom in the imaging direction.

[0028] Here, a method for controlling the imaging direction in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow shown in Fig. 4. Note that the processing of the flow shown in Fig. 4 is executed by the functional blocks shown in Fig. 3 which are realized by the CPU 800 of the imaging device 1000 executing a computer program stored in the ROM 820 of the imaging device 1000, for example.

[0029] First, in S4001, the system control unit 1016 of the imaging device 1000 acquires position information of the current imaging direction. Note that the position information of the imaging direction is indicated by pan and tilt position information. For example, the system control unit 1016 transmits a position acquisition command to the camera platform 2000 requesting position information of the current imaging direction, and acquires position information of the current imaging direction from the camera platform 2000 as a response to the position acquisition command.

[0030] Next, in S4002, the system control unit 1016 determines whether the angular difference (difference) between the current pan or tilt position of the camera platform 2000 acquired in S4001 and the target position specified in the position specification command for position specification control is less than a predetermined value. Here, it may be determined whether the difference between the current position and the target position is less than a predetermined value for each of the pan direction 2003 and the tilt direction 2004, or it may be determined whether the difference between the current position and the target position is less than a predetermined value for either one of them. Here, the target position specified in the position specification command is an angle within a range that can be specified by the client. In the example shown in FIG. 7(b), the predetermined value in this embodiment is 180 degrees, but other values ​​may be used. The parameter value used as the predetermined value may also be changeable by the user. If it is determined in S4002 that the difference between the current position and the target position is less than 180 degrees (Yes in S4002), the process proceeds to S4003. On the other hand, if it is determined that the difference between the current position and the target position is 180 degrees or more (No in S4002), the process proceeds to S4004. In the example shown in FIG. 7, if "+170 degrees" is specified as the target position specified by the position specification command, "260 degrees" is specified as the difference between the current position "-90 degrees" and "+170 degrees." The system control unit 1016 then determines that the difference is 180 degrees or more, and proceeds to S4004.

[0031] In S4003, the system control unit 1016 of the imaging device 1000 sends a position designation control command to the camera platform 2000 using information about the target position designated in the position designation command, and ends execution of the position designation command. At this time, the system control unit 1016 generates a command for controlling the imaging direction so that the camera platform 2000 follows the shortest route from the current position to the target position designated by the user in accordance with the position designation control, and sends the command to the camera platform 2000.

[0032] Next, in S4004, the system control unit 1016 determines the direction in which the imaging direction is to be controlled. In this embodiment, the direction passing through the longest route from the current position to the target position is determined as the direction in which the imaging direction is to be controlled in the direction specification control. Assume that a target position of "+170 degrees" is specified by a position specification command. In this case, parameters that can obtain an imaging direction equivalent to the imaging direction of the target position include "+170 degrees" and "-190 degrees," as shown in FIG. 7. In this case, when controlling the imaging direction to reach the target position, in the example shown in FIG. 7, there are two routes: one from the current position "-90 degrees" to the target position "+170 degrees" and one from the current position "-90 degrees" to "-190 degrees." Generally, the shortest route is considered to be selected as the direction in which the imaging direction is to be controlled. However, in the example shown in FIG. 7, if the shortest route is selected, the imaging direction will be located at "-190 degrees," which is near the drive end. Therefore, in S4004, the system control unit 1016 determines the direction for controlling the imaging direction in the direction specification control as the direction that passes through the longest route from the current position "-90 degrees" to the target position "+170 degrees." This allows the imaging direction to be positioned at "+170 degrees," which is not near the drive end, rather than "-190 degrees," which is near the drive end. The following processing may be performed as a method for determining the direction for controlling the imaging direction. That is, the rotation direction is determined by subtracting the current pan / tilt position of the camera platform 2000 acquired in S4001 from the target pan / tilt position specified in the position specification command requesting position specification control. For example, if the value obtained by subtracting the current position from the target position is a "positive value," the clockwise direction when viewing the imaging device 1000 from directly above, as shown in FIG. 7(a), is determined as the direction for controlling the imaging direction. On the other hand, if the value obtained by subtracting the current position from the target position is a "negative value," the counterclockwise direction is determined as the direction for controlling the imaging direction.

[0033] Next, in S4005, the system control unit 1016 of the imaging direction 1000 uses the information on the rotation direction determined in S4004 to send a direction specification control command to the camera platform 2000. In other words, the system control unit 1000 sends a command to the camera platform 2000 requesting that the imaging direction be controlled to the direction determined in S4004.

[0034] Next, in S4006, the system control unit 1016 acquires position information of the current imaging direction. For example, the system control unit 1016 transmits a position acquisition command requesting position information of the current imaging direction to the camera platform 2000, and acquires position information of the current imaging direction from the camera platform 2000 as a response to the position acquisition command.

[0035] In S4007, the system control unit 1016 compares the target position specified in the position specification command with the current position acquired in S4006, and checks whether the current position has reached the target position. If it has not reached the target position, the process returns to S4006. If it has reached the target position, the process proceeds to S4008. In S4008, the system control unit 1016 executes processing to stop control of the imaging direction. For example, the system control unit 1016 transmits a stop command to the camera platform 2000 requesting that control of the imaging direction be stopped, and stops control of the imaging direction of the camera platform 2000.

[0036] As described above, in this embodiment, when a target position specified by a position specification command in position specification control is more than a predetermined angle away from the current position, direction specification control is performed in a direction that follows the longest route rather than the shortest route. Here, assume that the target position specified by the position specification command in position specification control is “+170 degrees.” In this case, in an imaging device that always selects the shortest route in position specification control, if the current position is “−90 degrees,” the imaging direction is moved to “−190 degrees,” which is essentially the same as the target position “+170 degrees.” In this case, when the imaging direction reaches “−190 degrees,” it will be near the drive end. Further control of the imaging direction from there will result in a reduction in the degree of freedom in controlling the imaging direction because it is near the drive end. On the other hand, according to this embodiment, when the target position is more than 180 degrees away from the current position, direction specification control controls the imaging direction to follow the longest route rather than the shortest route. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 7 , it can be reached at “+170 degrees.” Therefore, since it can be positioned at "+170 degrees" and not near the drive end, it is possible to prevent the degree of freedom in controlling the imaging direction from being reduced.

[0037] (Embodiment 2) In general, direction specification control may have lower accuracy in stopping the imaging direction at a target position than position specification control. For example, when controlling the camera platform 2000 to position the imaging direction at a target position according to position specification control, the camera platform 2000 itself can perform a stopping process when the target position is reached. On the other hand, assume a case where the camera platform 2000 is controlled according to direction specification control to position the imaging direction at a target position. In this case, the imaging device 1000 transmits a position acquisition command to the camera platform 2000 and acquires the current position as a response during the process of controlling the camera platform 2000 to move the imaging direction 2000 in a predetermined direction according to direction specification control. Then, when the current position reaches the target position, the imaging device 1000 transmits a stop command to the camera platform 2000, causing the camera platform 2000 to stop controlling the imaging direction. As such, command exchange is required to reach the target position using direction specification control. Therefore, depending on communication conditions, etc., a time lag may occur between when the current position reaches the target position and when the camera platform actually stops. Therefore, the stopping error may be larger than when the camera head is controlled by position specification control. Therefore, in this embodiment, position specification control is performed after a stop command is sent to the camera head 2000 in direction specification control. Note that differences from embodiment 1 will be mainly described, and components and processes that are the same as or equivalent to those in embodiment 1 will be assigned the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

[0038] Here, the process of controlling the imaging direction in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow shown in Fig. 5. Note that the process of the flow shown in Fig. 5 is executed by the functional blocks shown in Fig. 3, which are realized by the CPU 800 of the imaging device 1000 executing, for example, a computer program stored in the ROM 820 of the imaging device 1000. Note that S5001 to S5007 are the same as the contents described in S4001 to S4007 in the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. In S5008, the system control unit 1016 transmits a stop command to the camera platform 2000, and the process proceeds to S5009. In S5009, the system control unit 1016 of the imaging device 1000 transmits a position designation control command to the camera platform 2000 using information on the target position specified in the position designation command, and ends execution of the position designation command.

[0039] The timing for performing the position designation control in S5009 may be immediately after the stop command is sent to the camera platform in S5008, or after the camera platform has confirmed that it is stopped by any method.

[0040] As described above, according to this embodiment, by performing position designation control after sending a stop command to the camera head, it is possible to reduce the stopping error that occurs when the position designation control in the first embodiment is replaced by direction designation control.

[0041] (Embodiment 3) As described in the second embodiment, when the position specification control is replaced with the direction specification control in the first embodiment, a time lag may occur between the time when the current position of the pan / tilt of the camera head reaches the target position and the time when the camera head actually stops. As a result, the stopping error may be larger than when the camera head is controlled by the position specification control. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to reduce the stopping error when the position specification control is replaced with the direction specification control in the first embodiment, the camera head control is switched to the position specification control when the angular difference between the current position and the target position becomes less than 180 degrees. Note that the following mainly describes the differences from the above-mentioned embodiments, and the same or equivalent components and processes as those in the above-mentioned embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0042] Here, the process of controlling the imaging direction in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow shown in Fig. 6. The process of the flow shown in Fig. 6 is executed by the functional blocks shown in Fig. 3, which are realized by the CPU 800 of the imaging device 1000 executing a computer program stored in the ROM 820 of the imaging device 1000, for example. Furthermore, S6001 to S6006 are similar to the contents of S4001 to S4006 described in Fig. 4 of the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. In S6007, the system control unit 1016 of the imaging device 1000 checks whether the angular difference between the current position of the camera platform 2000 acquired in S6006 and the target position specified by the position specification command is less than 180 degrees. If the angular difference is less than 180 degrees (Yes in S6007), the process proceeds to S6008. If the angular difference is 180 degrees or greater (No in S6007), the process returns to S6006. In S6008, the system control unit 1016 of the imaging device 1000 sends a position designation control command to the pan / tilt head 2000 using information on the target position specified in the position designation command, and controls the pan / tilt head 2000 so that the imaging direction reaches the target position based on the position designation control.

[0043] Although in S6007 it was checked whether the angular difference between the current position and the target position was less than 180 degrees, the timing for sending the position specification control command in S6008 can be any timing as long as the angular difference between the current position and the target position is between 0 degrees and 180 degrees.

[0044] As described above, according to this embodiment, by switching the control of the camera head to position designation control when the angular difference between the current position and the target position becomes less than 180 degrees, it is possible to reduce the stopping error that occurs when the position designation control in embodiment 1 is replaced by direction designation control.

[0045] (Other embodiments) Next, the hardware configuration of the imaging device 1000 for realizing each function of each embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Note that, although the hardware configuration of the imaging device 1000 will be described in the following explanation, it is assumed that the camera platform 2000 and the client device 3000 are also realized by the same hardware configuration.

[0046] The imaging device 1000 in this embodiment includes a CPU 800 , a RAM 810 , a ROM 820 , an HDD 830 , and an I / F 840 .

[0047] The CPU 800 is a central processing unit that controls the imaging device 1000. The RAM 810 temporarily stores computer programs executed by the CPU 800. The RAM 810 also provides a work area used when the CPU 800 executes processing. The RAM 810 also functions as, for example, a frame memory or a buffer memory.

[0048] The ROM 820 stores programs and the like that are used by the CPU 800 to control the imaging device 1000. The HDD 830 is a storage device that records image data and the like.

[0049] The I / F 810 communicates with external devices via the network 4000 in accordance with TCP / IP, HTTP, or the like.

[0050] In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the CPU 800 executes the processing is described, but at least a part of the processing by the CPU 800 may be executed by dedicated hardware. For example, the processing of reading program code from the ROM 820 and loading it into the RAM 810 may be executed by a DMA (Direct Memory Access) that functions as a transfer device.

[0051] The present invention can also be realized by a process in which one or more processors read and execute a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments. The program may be supplied to a system or device having a processor via a network or a storage medium. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments. Each unit of the imaging device 1000 may be realized by hardware shown in FIG. 8, or by software.

[0052] Note that one or more functions of the imaging device 1000 according to the above-described embodiment may be implemented by another device. For example, one or more functions of the imaging device 1000 according to the embodiment may be implemented by another device.

[0053] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the above embodiments merely illustrate specific examples of how the present invention can be implemented, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by these embodiments. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the technical concept or main features of the present invention. For example, combinations of the embodiments are also included in the disclosure of this specification. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 1000 Imaging Device 1016 System control unit 2000 Panhead 2011 System Control Unit 3000 client devices 4000 Network

Claims

1. an imaging means for capturing an image; a control means for executing a process for controlling at least one of panning and tilting in order to control the imaging direction of the imaging means; an acquisition means for acquiring a current position of the imaging direction; a specifying means for specifying a difference between the current position of the imaging direction acquired by the acquiring means and a target position that is a target of the imaging direction, an imaging device characterized in that, when the difference identified by the identification means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control means controls the imaging direction by setting the direction of the longest path among multiple paths from the current position of the imaging direction acquired by the acquisition means to the target position as the direction in which to drive the imaging direction.

2. 2. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein, when the difference identified by the identification means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control means controls the imaging direction to the target position by direction designation control, and after a stop process, controls the imaging direction to the target position by position designation control.

3. The imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the difference identified by the identification means is less than a predetermined value, the control means controls the imaging direction to the direction of a shorter route from the current imaging direction position acquired by the acquisition means to the target position.

4. 2. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined value is 180 degrees.

5. A method for controlling an imaging device having an imaging means for capturing an image, comprising: a control step of executing a process for controlling at least one of panning and tilting in order to control the imaging direction of the imaging means; an acquisition step of acquiring a current position of the imaging direction; a specifying step of specifying a difference to a target position based on the current position of the imaging direction acquired in the acquiring step and a target position that is a target to be reached in the imaging direction, a control method characterized in that, in the control step, if the difference identified in the identification step is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the imaging direction is controlled so that the direction of the longest path among multiple paths from the current imaging direction position acquired in the acquisition step to the target position is used as the direction for driving the imaging direction.

6. A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Images