Image Pickup Apparatus Tracking via Stored Image Pattern Matching
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image pickup systems with tracking functions suffer from communication time lag, leading to inaccurate object tracking, especially when the object moves quickly or the communication delay is significant.
Innovation Solution
The system includes an image pickup apparatus and a remote control terminal that use pattern matching based on tracking images generated from past image signals stored in the camera, allowing accurate object tracking without relying on real-time position information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If real-time position information is transmitted from remote control terminal to image pickup apparatus, then tracking control can be executed, but communication time lag causes inaccurate tracking when object moves quickly
Solution Approach 1:
The system stores a series of past image signals in chronological order before they are needed for tracking. When a tracking command is received, the apparatus retrieves images from the stored sequence that correspond to the appropriate time point, compensating for communication delay. This preliminary storage of image data allows the system to use historical image information that matches the actual object position, resolving the timing mismatch between command transmission and object movement.
2Ease of operation
If position information is sent from controller to camera, then focus and exposure can be adjusted, but the adjusted values differ from operator's intention due to time lag
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses pattern matching to compare the current image with the tracking target image, continuously monitoring the object's position. When the object moves or the camera position changes, the pattern matching detects the deviation and triggers retrieval of appropriate past images. This feedback mechanism ensures that the tracking control parameters (focus, exposure) are always based on the most relevant historical image data, maintaining accuracy despite communication delays.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
The present invention provides an image pickup apparatus, a remote control apparatus, and methods of controlling the image pickup apparatus and the remote control apparatus capable of accurately tracking an object specified by an operator externally without depending on a communication time lag.