Image-capture system and image-capture method

Abstract

Provided are an image-capture system and an image-capture method capable of collecting highly reliable experimental data with high efficiency. An image-capture system 1 comprises: a plurality of compartments 10 in which animals fitted with RFID tags 30 are housed; a passage 20 that connects the plurality of compartments 10 so that the animals can move between the compartments 10; an image-capture device 50 that captures video of the passage 20; an RFID reader antenna 40 that detects that an animal has passed through the passage 20; and an information processing device 50 that uses a signal indicating the detection to create, from the video, a walking video of the period during which the animal was walking through the passage.

Description

Imaging System and Imaging Method

[0001] The present invention relates to an imaging system and an imaging method, and particularly to a technique for efficiently collecting highly reliable experimental data.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a system that images the inside of an open field containing experimental animals and evaluates the obtained video by a computer.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2024-513612

[0004] In the system described in Patent Document 1, since the animal moves freely within the open field, it is difficult to always image the movement of the animal from a fixed direction. For example, when attempting to observe and evaluate the effects of certain diseases (typically muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's disease, etc.) on motor function, it is required to obtain a large number of videos of the animal's walking movement taken from a fixed direction (typically the left side, right side, bottom direction). The system described in Patent Document 1 is not suitable for such requirements.

[0005] As a system for meeting such requirements, for example, a passage (e.g., a transparent pipe) having a width that allows one animal to pass through is provided, the animal is made to walk within the passage, and a camera fixed near the passage images the walking state of the animal from a fixed direction. However, as a result of tests by the inventor, the following problems were also recognized in the process of collecting experimental data with such a configuration.

[0006] (1) The reliability of experimental data decreases due to the experimenter influencing the movement of the animal. For example, when the experimenter touches or approaches the animal, the animal may shrink and stop moving or make unnatural movements.

[0007] (2) The efficiency of collecting experimental data is low. For example, in an example where the experimenter places the animal at one end of the passage and waits for the animal to walk to the other end before performing video imaging, only a few videos could be obtained per day.

[0008] The present invention aims to solve these problems and to provide an imaging system and imaging method that can collect highly reliable experimental data with high efficiency.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the imaging system includes a plurality of compartments where animals fitted with RFID tags are kept, passages connecting the plurality of compartments so that the animals can move between them, an imaging device for recording video of the passages, an RFID reader for detecting when an animal has passed through the passages, and an information processing device that uses a signal indicating the detection to create a walking video of the time the animal was walking through the passages from the video. According to one embodiment, the RFID tag stores the individual identification information of the animal, and the information processing device outputs the individual identification information of the animal linked to the walking video of the animal. According to one embodiment, the imaging method includes the steps of recording video of passages connecting a plurality of compartments where animals fitted with RFID tags are kept, detecting when an animal has passed through the passages, and using a signal indicating the detection to create a walking video of the time the animal was walking through the passages from the video. According to one embodiment, the RFID tag stores the individual identification information of the animal, and further includes the step of outputting the individual identification information of the animal linked to the walking video of the animal.

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an imaging system and imaging method that can collect highly reliable experimental data with high efficiency.

[0011] This is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the imaging system 1. This is a schematic diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the imaging system 1. This is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing device 60. This is a flowchart showing an example of the processing performed by the information processing device 60. This is a flowchart showing an example of the processing performed by the information processing device 60.

[0012] <Embodiment 1> Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the imaging system 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the imaging system 1.

[0013] The imaging system 1 includes a section 10, a passage 20, an RFID tag 30, an RFID reader antenna 40, an RFID reader control unit 41, an imaging device 50, and an information processing device 60.

[0014] Section 10 is a compartment in which an animal is housed. Embodiment 1 primarily describes the case in which one animal is housed in section 10. Typically, a breeding cage is used as section 10. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the system includes two sections 10 (10a, 10b). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the system may include three or more sections 10.

[0015] The passageway 20 is a connecting passage provided between multiple sections 10. Through the passageway 20, animals can move between the multiple sections 10. The passageway 20 is typically a conduit with a width sufficient for one animal to pass through. Preferably, the conduit is made of a transparent material so that the inside of the conduit can be photographed from the outside. In this embodiment, one passageway 20 connects two sections 10 (10a, 10b). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more sections 10 may be interconnected by multiple passageway 20.

[0016] Normally, within section 10, animals have a great degree of freedom of movement, making it difficult to film them from a consistent direction. This is because, when using a fixed camera, the animal needs to be positioned in the same location and posture each time a shot is taken. On the other hand, in passageway 20, animals have a limited degree of freedom of movement, making it easy to film them from a consistent direction (e.g., left and right sides, top, bottom, etc.). In other words, passageway 20 serves as a studio for filming clear walking videos.

[0017] To encourage animals to move back and forth along the passage 20, it is advisable to place water in one section 10a and food in the other section 10b. Since animals will alternate between eating and drinking, they will spontaneously travel back and forth along the passage 20 many times.

[0018] The RFID tag 30 is a wireless module that records individual identification information of an animal. In this embodiment, the RFID tag 30 is implanted in the animal's body, for example, in the abdominal cavity or subcutaneously. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the RFID tag 30 can be attached to an animal by any means.

[0019] The RFID tag 30 includes a microchip and an antenna connected to it, and these are covered with a protective material. The protective material may be glass, resin, ceramic, etc. In this embodiment, a roughly cylindrical glass case with a diameter of 2 mm and a length of approximately 12 mm, which is biocompatible, is used. The microchip stores individual identification information of the animal, i.e., a unique identifier. When the antenna receives radio waves from the RFID reader antenna 40, the microchip operates using these radio waves as an energy source (passive tag). The microchip converts the individual identification information into a signal and transmits it from the antenna.

[0020] The RFID reader antenna 40 is a wireless module that reads individual animal identification information by irradiating the RFID tag 30 with radio waves. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, the RFID reader antenna 40 has a ring-shaped outer form and irradiates radio waves to the RFID tag 30 passing through the ring. By configuring the passage 20 to pass through the ring, the RFID reader antenna 40 can irradiate radio waves to the RFID tag 30 embedded in the animal passing through the passage 20. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any shape of RFID reader antenna 40 may be used as long as it is capable of irradiating radio waves to the RFID tag 30 embedded in the animal passing through the passage 20.

[0021] When the RFID reader antenna 40 emits radio waves to the RFID tag 30, the RFID tag 30 transmits individual identification information. When the RFID reader antenna 40 receives the individual identification information, the RFID reader control unit 41, to which the RFID reader antenna 40 is connected, transfers the individual identification information to the information processing unit 60. The RFID reader control unit 41 and the information processing unit 60 are assumed to be pre-connected for communication.

[0022] When multiple RFID reader antennas 40 (40a, 40b, ...) are provided within the imaging system 1, typically these multiple RFID reader antennas 40 (40a, 40b, ...) are connected to one RFID reader control unit 41.

[0023] In this embodiment, at least one RFID reader antenna 40 is provided at each end of the passageway 20. This allows for the detection of when an animal enters the passageway 20 and when it leaves the passageway 20. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, one or more RFID reader antennas 40 may be provided at any location in the passageway 20.

[0024] In this embodiment, the RFID tag 30 and the RFID reader antenna 40 communicate via short-range wireless communication using a frequency of 13.56 MHz. Since the communication area is only a few centimeters, individual identification within a range suitable for the experimental purpose is easily achieved. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other frequency bands, such as kHz (long wave) or GHz or higher (ultra-high frequency), may also be used.

[0025] The camera 50 is a video camera capable of recording video. In this embodiment, the camera 50 is positioned at a lower position than the passageway 20 (a position with a small Z coordinate) and facing upward (in the positive direction of the Z axis), and records video of the inside of the passageway 20. With this installation method, it is possible to film animals walking inside the passageway 20 from the bottom (underside).

[0026] The camera 50 operates continuously throughout the experiment, regardless of whether an animal is walking in the passageway 20, and transmits real-time video data to the information processing device 60 at all times or upon request. The camera 50 and the information processing device 60 are assumed to be pre-connected for communication.

[0027] The information processing device 60 is a computer system that creates and stores walking videos. The information processing device 60 typically includes a processor, memory, input / output devices, communication devices, etc., and logically realizes the following processing unit by having a program stored in memory perform predetermined information processing using data input via the communication devices, etc., and stored in memory.

[0028] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing device 60. The information processing device 60 has a video acquisition unit 601, a passage detection unit 602, and a video processing unit 603 as processing units.

[0029] The video acquisition unit 601 receives video data from the shooting device 50. At this time, the time of receipt may be identified and added to the video data as a time code or the like.

[0030] The passage detection unit 602 receives individual identification information from the RFID reader 40. At this time, the time of reception may also be specified.

[0031] The video processing unit 603 uses the signal from the passage detection unit 602 to extract the portion of the video data received by the video acquisition unit 601 that captures the animal's walking motion.

[0032] For example, if RFID readers 40a and 40b are installed at both ends of the passageway 20, the video processing unit 603 receives a signal S1 indicating that RFID reader 40a detected an animal passing through (entering the passageway 20) at one end of the passageway 20 at time T1, and a signal S2 indicating that RFID reader 40b detected the animal passing through (leaving the passageway 20) at the other end at time T2 (assuming T1 < T2). The video processing unit 603 stores the video data obtained by the video acquisition unit 601 during the time from time T1 indicated by signal S1 to time T2 indicated by signal S2 as a walking video in a predetermined storage area.

[0033] In this case, the video processing unit 602 may temporarily store the video data obtained by the video acquisition unit 601 in a storage device such as a buffer or memory, and create a walking video by extracting the portion from time T1 to time T2 from this video data. Alternatively, the video processing unit 602 may create a walking video by starting to save the video data obtained by the video acquisition unit 601 when signal S1 is received, and ending the saving of the video data when signal S2 is received. In either case, any portion of the video data obtained by the video acquisition unit 601 that is not saved as a walking video by the video processing unit 603 can be discarded without being saved.

[0034] Alternatively, if only one RFID reader antenna 40 is installed at any point in the passage 20, the video processing unit 603 receives a signal S3 indicating that an animal has passed through at time T3 when the RFID reader antenna 40 detects the animal's passage. The video processing unit 603 estimates that the animal passed through the passage 20 during a time frame obtained by adding predetermined margins t1 and t2 before and after time T3, i.e., between T3-t1 and T3+t2. The video processing unit 603 stores the video data obtained by the video acquisition unit 601 during the time between T3-t1 and T3+t2 as a walking video in a predetermined storage area.

[0035] In this case, the video processing unit 602 can create a walking video by temporarily storing the video data obtained by the video acquisition unit 601 in a storage device such as a buffer or memory, and then extracting the portion from time T3-t1 to time T3+t2 from this video data. Note that any portion of the video data obtained by the video acquisition unit 601 that is not saved as a walking video by the video processing unit 603 can be discarded without being saved.

[0036] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing a series of processes performed by the information processing device 60.

[0037] S1: The video acquisition unit 601 receives video data from the shooting device 50.

[0038] S2: Reception of individual identification information (detection of passage) The passage detection unit 602 receives individual identification information from the RFID reader antenna 40.

[0039] S3: The video processing unit 603, which creates the walking video, receives a signal from the passage detection unit 602 indicating that it has detected the passage of an animal, and creates a walking video from the video data obtained by the video acquisition unit 601 that captures the animal walking along the passage 20.

[0040] According to this embodiment, an RFID reader antenna 40 installed in a passage 20 connecting multiple sections 10 detects when an animal passes through the passage 20. A camera 50 also photographs the animal passing through the passage 20, and an information processing device 60 creates a walking video of the animal's passage time from the captured video data. This allows for the collection of walking videos even in an unattended state, so the experimenter does not influence the animal's movement, improving the reliability of the experimental data. Furthermore, simply by keeping animals in multiple sections 10, the animals will autonomously travel back and forth through the passage 20, improving the efficiency of creating walking videos. In tests conducted by the inventor, it was possible to automatically create an average of 60 walking videos per animal per day, and a maximum of 130 videos, by using the camera system 1.

[0041] <Embodiment 2> Embodiment 1 mainly assumed a case where one animal was housed in compartment 10. Embodiment 2 describes a more efficient information processing method assuming a case where multiple animals are housed in compartment 10.

[0042] The imaging system 1 according to Embodiment 2 includes a partition 10, a passage 20, an RFID tag 30, an RFID reader antenna 40, an RFID reader control unit 41, an imaging device 50, and an information processing device 60. These configurations are the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0043] The difference from Embodiment 1 is that the video processing unit 603 of the information processing device 60 performs the following characteristic processing.

[0044] The video processing unit 603 uses a signal indicating that the passing detection unit 602 has received the individual identification information to perform a process of creating a walking video that captures the walking state of the animal from the video data obtained by the video acquisition unit 601. That is, the walking video is created in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

[0045] In addition, the video processing unit 603 associates and stores the individual identification information received by the passing detection unit 602 with the walking video created based on the individual identification information. Typically, a folder named with the individual identification information is created, and the created walking video is stored in the folder. If a folder named with the individual identification information already exists, the created walking video is stored in the existing folder.

[0046] For example, when the notification detection unit 602 receives the individual identification information X and the video processing unit 603 creates the walking video XM using the time when X is received, the video creation unit 603 stores the walking video XM in the folder named "X".

[0047] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a series of processes performed by the information processing apparatus 60 in the second embodiment.

[0048] S1: Reception of video data The video acquisition unit 601 receives video data from the imaging device 50.

[0049] S2: Reception of individual identification information (detection of passing) The passing detection unit 602 receives individual identification information from the RFID reader antenna 40.

[0050] S3: Creation of walking video The video processing unit 603 receives a signal indicating that the passing detection unit 602 has detected the passing of the animal, and creates a walking video that captures the state of the animal walking on the passage 20 from the video data obtained by the video acquisition unit 601.

[0051] S4: Association of individual identification information and walking video The video processing unit 603 associates and stores the individual identification information received in S2 with the walking video created in S3.

[0052] According to this embodiment, when multiple animals are kept in section 10, the RIFD reader antenna 40 identifies individual animals passing through the passage 20. The video processing unit 603 manages the created walking videos in association with individual identification information. As a result, walking videos of multiple animals can be collected simultaneously and individually, further improving the efficiency of experimental data collection compared to Embodiment 1.

[0053] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. Within the scope of the invention, any component of the embodiments can be modified or any component of the embodiments can be omitted.

[0054] Furthermore, while the information processing of the present invention is typically realized by a processor executing a computer program, it may also be realized by hardware. The computer program can be supplied to the computer by various types of non-transitory computer-readable medium or transient computer-readable medium.

[0055] 1. Shooting system 10 (10a, 10b) Section 20 Passageway 30 RFID tags 40 (40a, 40b) RFID reader antenna 41 RFID reader control unit 50 Shooting device 60 Information processing device 601 Video acquisition unit 602 Passage detection unit 603 Video processing unit

Claims

1. A photography system comprising: multiple compartments in which animals fitted with RFID tags are kept; passages connecting the multiple compartments so that the animals can move between them; a photography device for recording video of the passages; an RFID reader antenna for detecting when an animal has passed through the passages; and an information processing device that uses the detection signal to create a walking video from the video of the time the animal was walking in the passages.

2. The shooting system according to claim 1, wherein the RFID tag stores individual identification information of the animal, and the information processing device outputs the individual identification information of the animal linked to the walking video of the animal.

3. A recording method comprising the steps of: recording video of a passageway connecting multiple sections where animals fitted with RFID tags are kept; detecting that the animal has passed through the passageway; and using a signal indicating the detection, creating a walking video from the video of the time the animal was walking through the passageway.

4. The method for capturing images according to claim 3, wherein the RFID tag stores individual identification information of the animal, and further comprises the step of linking the individual identification information of the animal with the walking video of the animal and outputting the result.

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