Video camera capable of automatic target tracking
US5631697A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 2, 1995 |
| Grant date | May 20, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 2, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S3/7865
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An image signal provided by an image pickup device, such as a CCD, is converted into a video signal by a signal processor. An extraction means extracts a candidate object region from the current video signal and an object region determined a certain time before by a decision means is read from a memory. For example, the decision means compares an overlapping region in which the candidate object region and the object region read from the memory overlap each other and provides a new object region a size larger than the overlapping region and replace the object region with the new object region to update the contents of the memory. On the other hand, a calculating means calculates the features of the object region including the position of the centroid of the object region on a screen. A control means, such as a microcomputer, controls the image pick up device on the basis of information about the features so that a region including the target object substantially in its central part is cut out as a video signal. Consequently, the target object can be surely tracked regardless of objects other than the target object included in a scene.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.