Dual-Camera Subject Tracking Beyond the Main Capture Area
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image pickup devices struggle to track and maintain focus on a subject if it moves outside the capturing area displayed on the camera's finder.
Innovation Solution
The device employs a dual-camera system, where a first camera sensor captures the subject within a standard capturing area, and a second camera sensor with a wider capturing region assists in tracking the subject when it moves outside the initial capturing area, using a processing unit to extract and track the subject across both sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a standard capturing area is used for image pickup, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to track subjects outside the capturing area deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The image pickup device divides the capturing area into multiple regions (first capturing area and second capturing area) that can be independently controlled. The subject tracking unit can selectively switch between these regions based on subject position, enabling extended tracking capability without requiring a completely different sensor configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extends the tracking capability by adding a spatial dimension - the second capturing area is positioned to capture regions outside the first capturing area. This allows the system to track subjects that move beyond the standard field of view by switching to the extended capturing region.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the capturing area is expanded to track subjects outside, then the subject tracking capability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple capturing areas (first and second capturing areas) into a single integrated image pickup device. The subject tracking unit manages both regions and switches between them based on subject position, providing extended tracking capability without requiring separate independent systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The image pickup device is designed with multi-functionality by incorporating both a first capturing area for standard imaging and a second capturing area for extended subject tracking. The same image pickup device performs both functions through the subject tracking unit's ability to switch between regions.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides an image pickup device that recognizes the object that the user is attempting to capture as the subject, tracks the movement of that subject, and can continue tracking the movement of the subject even when the subject leaves the capturing area so that the subject can always be reliably brought into focus. The image pickup device includes a main camera that captures the subject; an EVF that displays the captured image captured by the main camera, a sub-camera that captures the subject using a wider capturing region than the main camera, and a processing unit that extracts the subject from the captured images captured by the main camera and the sub-camera, tracks the extracted subject, and brings the subject into focus when an image of the subject is actually captured. When the subject moves outside of a capturing region of the main camera, the processing unit tracks the subject extracted from the captured image captured by the sub-camera.