Patent Publication Number: US-9854204-B2

Title: Communication system and method for controlling the same

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure relates to a communication system for communicating with a communication partner in a remote place. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Some known systems allow a user to communicate with a communication partner in a distant place (remote place). Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-191613 discusses a remote conference system for holding a conference with a communication partner in a remote place. The system discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-191613 includes a camera for capturing an image of a person, a projector for projecting the captured image, and a screen for displaying the image projected by the projector thereon. 
     In the system discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-191613, an image of a person captured by a camera provided in a conference room is projected on a screen by a projector on a partner side (in a remote place) while an image of a person captured by a camera on the partner side is projected on a screen by a projector in the conference room. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-191613 further discusses a technique for raising a sense of realism in a conference by projecting a person in a life size. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system includes, a first projection unit configured to project an image on a first projection surface, an imaging unit configured to capture an image of an object positioned in front of the first projection surface, a determination unit configured to determine a processing parameter for image processing to be performed on the object image captured by the imaging unit, based on a distance between the first projection surface and the object, a processing unit configured to perform the image processing on the object image based on the processing parameter determined by the determination unit, and a second projection unit configured to project the object image having undergone the image processing on a second projection surface. 
     According to other aspects of the present disclosure, one or more additional communication systems, one or more methods for controlling same and one or more storage mediums are discussed herein. Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  each illustrate a configuration of a communication system. 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  each illustrate a state where communication is performed. 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  each illustrate a state where communication is performed. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a hardware configuration of the communication system. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates switching between a back image of a person and a front image of the person. 
         FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, and 6E  each illustrate an image of a person projected on a screen in a remote place. 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by a control server. 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by a control server in a remote place. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following exemplary embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure according to the appended claims. Not all of the combinations of the features described in the exemplary embodiments are essential to the solutions for the present disclosure. 
     A first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below.  FIGS. 1A and 1B  are sectional views each illustrating a communication system according to the present disclosure. Using this communication system enables performing communication between an office  1  (e.g., a head office) and an office  2  (e.g., a branch). Although communication is performed between two offices in this example, communication may be performed between three or more offices. 
     The above-described offices may be distant from each other so that movement from one office to the other office takes several hours or may be different conference rooms in the same building. More specifically, the expression “remote” indicates different physical spaces, and does not define the physical distance or the length of time taken to move from one place to another. 
     The office  1  illustrated in  FIG. 1A  is provided with a projector  101 , a screen  102 , a front camera  103 , and a back camera  104 . The projector  101  is a projection apparatus for projecting, on the screen  102 , an image captured in another office. In the present exemplary embodiment, images captured by the front camera  103  and the back camera  104  and images projected on the screen  102  are assumed to be moving images, but may be still images. 
     The projector  101  projects, on the screen  102 , a conference material and an image of a person in a remote place (e.g., the office  2 ) in a superimposed way. In the present exemplary embodiment an image is projected on the screen  102  by using one projector. However, a plurality of projectors may be installed, and a conference material and an image of a person in a remote place may be projected by different projectors. 
     The screen  102  is a projection surface on which an image is projected by the projector  101 . The screen  102  may be temporarily installed when communication with a communication partner in another office is performed, and an office wall may serve as the screen  102 . Although, in the present exemplary embodiment, a projector and a screen are used to display an image, an image can be displayed by using a large-sized liquid crystal display (LCD). 
     The front camera  103 , an imaging apparatus for capturing an image of a person  105 , is embedded in the screen  102 . The front camera  103  is a camera for capturing an image of the front of the person  105 , who stands in front of the screen  102 , from the side of the screen  102  as the projection surface side. The front camera  103  is installed at the position illustrated in  FIG. 1A  so that the front of the person  105  can be captured when the person  105  faces the screen  102 . 
     The back camera  104  is an imaging apparatus for capturing an image of the person  105 . The back camera  104  is a camera for capturing an image of the back of the person  105 , who stands in front of the screen  102 , and an image projected on the screen  102 . The back camera  104  is installed at the position illustrated in  FIG. 1A  (the side opposite to the screen  102  with respect to the person  105 ) so that the back of the person  105  can be captured when the person  105  faces the screen  102 . 
     The front camera  103  includes a distance sensor for detecting the distance to an object. Images obtained by the front camera  103  include color images composed of red, green, and blue (RGB) 8-bit 3-channel information and distance images composed of 8-bit 1-channel information. The use of a distance image enables the front camera  103  to measure the distance between the screen  102  and the person  105 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1B , the office  2  in which a person  115  is present is also provided with facilities similar to those in the office  1  (a projector  111 , a screen  112 , a front camera  113 , and a back camera  114 ). 
       FIG. 2A  is an external view illustrating the communication system in which the person  105  in the office  1  is communicating with the person  115  in the office  2 . An image of the person  115  captured by the front camera  113  of the office  2  and a conference material  200  are projected on the screen  102 . 
     The office  1  is provided with a digitizer which includes a transmitter  201   a  and a receiver  201   b . The digitizer is a detection apparatus for detecting a user operation performed on the screen  102 . When infrared light projected by the transmitter  201   a  is interrupted by a part of the body of the person  105  or a pointing stick held by the person  105 , the digitizer outputs coordinates indicating the position of infrared light interruption. Although, in this example, the transmitter  201   a  is arranged on the left side of the screen  102  and the receiver  201   b  is arranged on the right side of the screen  102 , these devices may be arranged on the upper and lower sides of the screen  102 . The method for detecting a user operation is not limited to a digitizer. A touch-panel function provided on the screen  102  may detect a pressed position on the screen  102 . 
       FIG. 2B  illustrates a situation in the office  2 . An image of the person  105  captured by the front camera  103  of the office  1  and the conference material  210  are projected on the screen  112  of the office  2 . As with the office  1 , the office  2  is also provided with a digitizer which includes a transmitter  211   a  and a receiver  211   b.    
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , a person in the office  1  and a person in the office  2  are each projected in the office  2  and the office  2 , respectively. This configuration allows the persons  105  and  115  to get a sense of communicating with each other face to face in the same conference room. 
     In some conferences, a user (conference participant) approaches a conference material and communicates with another user while pointing the conference material with a finger or pointing stick. In such a case, when an image of a person captured by the front camera is projected to a remote place, the user at the remote place is unable to grasp where in the conference material is pointed out. Accordingly, the present exemplary embodiment is characterized in that, when the user is in close proximity to the screen, the image to be projected to the remote place is changed from the image of the person captured by the front camera to an image of the person captured by the back camera. In the following descriptions, an image of a person captured by the front camera is sometimes referred to as a front image of a person and an image of a person captured by the back camera is sometimes referred to as a back image of a person. 
     Processing for changing the image to be projected to the remote place from the front image of a person to the back image of the person will be described below with reference to  FIGS. 3A and 3B .  FIG. 3A  illustrates a state where, in the office  1 , the person  105  is in close proximity to the screen  102  and points out the conference material with a pointing stick. As compared with the case illustrated in  FIG. 2A , the person  105  is closer to the screen  102 . 
     In the office  2 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3B , the projected image changes from the front image of the image person  105  to the back image of the person  105 . With this configuration, the person  115  in the office  2  is able to grasp where in the conference material the person  105  is pointing out with a pointing stick. Further, transparentizing processing is performed on the back image of the person  105  to be projected in the office  2 . As a result, even when the back image of the person  105  and the conference material are projected in a superimposed way, the person  115  can grasp the contents of the overlapping portion. The transparentizing processing is an example of image processing. 
     A hardware configuration of the communication system will be described below with reference to  FIG. 4 . Although not illustrated in  FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B , the office  1  is provided with a control server  401 . A CPU  402  included in the control server  401  reads a control program stored in a read only memory (ROM)  404  and then executes the control program to control each apparatus provided in the office  1 . A random access memory (RAM)  403  is used as a main memory of the CPU  402  and a temporary storage area such as a work area. Although, in the office  1 , one CPU (CPU  402 ) executes each piece of processing illustrated in the flowchart (described below) by using one memory (RAM  403 ), another configuration is also applicable. For example, a CPU may be provided for each of the cameras, the projector, and the digitizer, and executes each piece of processing in collaboration with a plurality of CPUs, a plurality of RAMs, a hard disk drive (HDD), and a solid state drive (SSD). Further, a part of processing (described below) may be executed by using hardware circuit such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). A HDD  405  is used as a storage medium for storing various data. 
     A network  400  is a network for connecting the offices  1  and  2 . The type of the network  400  is not limited and may be suitably selected according to the user&#39;s environment, for example, from a wired network, a wireless network, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a public line, and a private line. A network interface (I/F)  410  is an interface for connecting the office  1  to the network  400 . 
     Although not illustrated in  FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B , each office is provided with a microphone and a speaker. Voice of a person in an office is converted into an audio signal by a microphone and is output from a speaker in a remote place. The office  1  is provided with a microphone  411  and a speaker  412 . An audio I/F  407  is an interface for controlling an audio input to the microphone  411  and an audio output from the speaker  412 . 
     A projector I/F  408  is an interface for controlling image projection performed by the projector  101 . Although, in the present exemplary embodiment, an image is projected on a screen by using one projector, an image may be projected on the screen by using a plurality of projectors when the screen has a large width. 
     A digitizer I/F  409  is an interface for controlling detection of a user operation by the digitizer which includes the transmitter  201   a  and the receiver  201   b . A camera I/F  406  is an interface for controlling image capturing performed by the front camera  103  and the back camera  104 . 
     The office  2  has a hardware configuration similar to that of the office  1 . Since each hardware component of the office  2  is similar to that of the office  1 , redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted. 
     The processing for switching between the front and the back images of a person will be described in detail below with reference to  FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, and 6E .  FIG. 5  illustrates a positional relation between the screen  102  and the person  105  when the office  1  is viewed from above (ceiling side). The front camera  103  is embedded in the screen  102 . Thus, the distance between the front camera  103  and the person  105  to be measured by the front camera  103  coincides with the distance between the screen  102  and the person  105 . Distances D 1 , D 2 , D 3 , and D 4  illustrated in  FIG. 5  are predefined as threshold values and stored in the HDD  405  of the control server  401  and a HDD  425  of a control server  421 . 
     When the position of the person  105  is in a position range A (distance D 3 &lt;distance between the front camera  103  and the person  105 ≦distance D 4 ), the control server  401  of the office  1  transmits the front image of the person  105  to the office  2 . In this case, the front image of the person  105  is transmitted to the office  2  with the degree of transparency of 0% which means that the transparentizing processing is not performed. In the office  2 , the projection result is as illustrated in  FIG. 6A . The image projected on the screen  112  of the office  2  includes the portrait image of the person  105 , allowing the person  115  to communicate with the person  105  face to face. The degree of transparency is an example of a processing parameter for image processing. 
     When the position of the person  105  is in a position range B (distance D 2 ≦distance between the front camera  103  and the person  105 ≦distance D 3 ), the control server  401  of the office  1  transmits the front image of the person  105  to the office  2 . In this case, the transparentizing processing is performed on the front image of the person  105  based on the degree of transparency determined using the following formula, and the front image of the person  105  is transmitted to the office  2 . In the office  2 , the projection result is as illustrated in  FIG. 6B . Unlike the projection result illustrated in  FIG. 6A , the transparentizing processing is performed on the front image of the person  105  illustrated in  FIG. 6B . When the position of the person  105  is in the position range B, the degree of transparency of the front image of the person  105  projected in the office  2  increases as the person  105  approaches the screen  102 . 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
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     L denotes the distance between the front camera  103  and the person  105 . The position at which the distance between the front camera  103  and the person  105  is the distance D 2  is a switching position for switching between the front and the back images of the person  105 . When the distance between the front camera  103  and the person  105  is the distance D 2 , the degree of transparency of the front image of the person  105  becomes 100%, i.e., completely transparent. In the office  2 , the projection result is as illustrated in  FIG. 6C . 
     When the position of the person  105  is in a position range C (distance D 1 ≦distance between the front camera  103  and the person  105 &lt;distance D 2 ), the control server  401  of the office  1  transmits the back image of the person  105  to the office  2 . Unlike the case where the position of the person  105  is the position range A or B, the back image of the person  105 , not the front image of the person  105 , is transmitted to the office  2 . This is because the person  105  is approaching the screen  102  and it is expected that the person  105  performs a certain action on the conference material (e.g., pointing out with a pointing stick). Since switching between the front and the back images of the person  105  is automatically performed, the person  105  and the person  115  are able to smoothly communicate with each other. 
     When the position of the person  105  is in the position range C, the transparentizing processing is performed on the back image of the person  105  based on the degree of transparency determined by using the following formula and then the back image of the person  105  is transmitted to the office  2 . Although, in the example illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the minimum degree of transparency is set to 60%, the minimum transparency may be another value. In the office  2 , the projection result is as illustrated in  FIG. 6D . Unlike the projection results illustrated in  FIGS. 6A and 6B , the back image of the person  105  is projected on the screen  112  of the office  2 . When the position of the person  105  is in the position range C, the degree of transparency of the back portrait image of the person  105  projected on the office  2  decreases as the person  105  approaches the screen  102 . 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
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     L denotes the distance between the front camera  103  and person  105 , and the minimum degree of transparency denotes the degree of transparency in a position range D. Focusing on the switching position for switching between the front and the back images of the person  105 , a moment when the image of the person  105  becomes completely transparent occurs while the person  105  is approaching the screen  102 . The front image of the person  105  gradually becomes transparent, disappears for a moment, and then changes to the back image of the person  105 , so that the person  115  of the office  2  recognize such a change as a smooth image change. 
     When the position of the person  105  is in the position range D (distance between the front camera  103  and the person  105 &lt;distance D 1 ), the control server  401  of the office  1  transmits the back image of the person  105  to the office  2 . The degree of transparency of the back image of the person  105  is 60%. In the office  2 , the projection result is as illustrated in  FIG. 6E . The image projected on the screen  112  of the office  2  is the front image of the person  105 . This allows the person  115  to grasp the action of the person  105  performed on the conference material. A transparency of 60% is an example, and may be other values. 
     Processing performed by the control server  401  of the office  1  will be described below with reference to the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 7 . The flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 7  indicates processing, performed by the control server  401  of the office  1 , for selecting either the front or the back image of a person as an image to be transmitted to the office  2 . Each step in the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 7  is processed when the CPU  402  loads a control program stored in a memory such as the ROM  404  into the RAM  403  and then executes the control program. 
     In step S 701 , the CPU  402  specifies the position of a person in front of the screen  102  (the person  105  in the present exemplary embodiment). In the present exemplary embodiment, the front camera  103  includes a distance sensor, and the position of the person  105  is specified based on the distance between the front camera  103  and the person  105  measured by the front camera  103 . The relation between the distance between the front camera  103  and the person  105  and the position range to be specified is as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
     In step S 702 , the CPU  402  determines whether the front image of the person  105  is to be used as an image to be transmitted to the office  2 . When the position of the person  105  specified in step S 701  is in the position range A or B, the CPU  402  determines to use the front image of the person  105 . In other words, the CPU  402  selects the front image of the person  105  as an image to be transmitted to the office  2  (YES in step S 702 ). Then, the processing proceeds to step S 703 . 
     On the other hand, when the position of the person  105  specified in step S 701  is in the position range C or D, the CPU  402  determines not to use the front image of the person  105 . In other words, the CPU  402  selects the back image of the person  105  as an image to be transmitted to the office  2  (NO in step S 702 ). Then, the processing proceeds to step S 707 . 
     Step S 703  will be described below. In step S 703 , the CPU  402  extracts an image of the person (person  105 ) from the image captured by the front camera  103 . In the present exemplary embodiment, the CPU  402  acquires a difference image between a prepared background image (an image captured by the front camera  103  in advance when there is no person) and the latest image captured by the front camera  103 , and uses the acquired difference image as an image of the person. This method for extracting an image of a person is merely an example, and other method is also applicable. 
     In step S 704 , the CPU  402  determines the degree of transparency based on the position of the person  105  specified in step S 701 . The relation between the position of the person  105  and the degree of transparency is as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . In step S 705 , the CPU  402  performs the transparentizing processing on the image of the person  105  extracted in step S 703  based on the degree of transparency determined in step S 704 . 
     In step S 706 , the CPU  402  transmits the front image of the person  105  to the office  2 . More specifically, the CPU  402  controls the network I/F  410  to transmit the front image of the person  105  to the office  2 . The front image of the person  105  transmitted in this case is the image having undergone the transparentizing processing in step S 705 . 
     Step S 707  will be described below. In step S 707 , the CPU  402  extracts an image of the person  105  from the image captured by the back camera  104 . The method for extracting an image of the person  105  from the captured image is similar to that in step S 703 . 
     In step S 708 , the CPU  402  determines the degree of transparency based on the position of the person  105  specified in step S 701 . The relation between the position of the person  105  and the degree of transparency is as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . In step S 709 , the CPU  402  performs the transparentizing processing on the image of the person  105  extracted in step S 707  based on the transparency determined in step S 708 . 
     In step S 710 , the CPU  402  transmits the back image of the person  105  to the office  2 . More specifically, the CPU  402  controls the network I/F  410  to transmit the back image of the person  105  to the office  2 . The back image of the person  105  transmitted in this case is the image having undergone the transparentizing processing in step S 709 . 
     Step S 711  will be described below. In step S 711 , the CPU  402  determines whether communication is to be ended. For example, when a predetermined end operation is performed by the user, the CPU  402  determines to end communication (YES in step S 711 ), then the processing exits the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 7 . On the other hand, when the CPU  402  determines not to end communication (NO in step S 711 ), the processing returns to step S 701 . 
     Processing performed by the control server  421  of the office  2  will be described below with reference to the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 8  indicates processing for projecting an image of the person  105  (the front or the back image of the person  105 ) received from the office  1  and a conference material on the screen  112  in a superimposed way. Each step in the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 8  is processed when the CPU  422  loads a control program stored in a memory such as the ROM  424  into the RAM  423  and then executes the control program. 
     In step S 801 , the CPU  422  determines whether the image of the person  105  (the front or the back image of the person  105 ) is received from the office  1 . When the image of the person  105  is received from the office  1  (YES in step S 801 ), the processing proceeds to step S 802 . On the other hand, when the image of the person  105  is not received from the office  1  (NO in step S 801 ), the processing proceeds to step S 803 . 
     In step S 802 , the CPU  422  projects the image of the person  105  received in step S 801  and the conference material on the screen  112  in a superimposed way. More specifically, the CPU  422  controls the projector  111  to project a combined image of the image of the person  105  and the conference material on the screen  112 . 
     In step S 803 , the CPU  422  determines whether communication is to be ended. For example, when a predetermined end operation is performed by the user, the CPU  422  determines to end communication (YES in step S 803 ), then the processing exits the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 8 . On the other hand, when the CPU  422  determines not to end communication (NO in step S 803 ), the processing returns to step S 801 . 
     According to the present exemplary embodiment, it is possible to switch the image to be transmitted to a remote place between the front and the back images of a person based on the position of a person. In particular, the back image of the person is selected when the person is in close proximity to the screen. This allows a user in a remote place to easily grasp the person&#39;s action performed on the conference material. The switching between the front and the back images of the person is automatically performed based on the position of the person, making it possible to reduce user&#39;s works and promote smooth communication. 
     According to the present exemplary embodiment, the transparentizing processing is performed on an image of a person to be projected on a remote place. Even when the conference material and the person are projected in a superimposed way, the transparent image of the person allows a user in a remote place to easily grasp the contents of the overlapping portion. 
     According to the present exemplary embodiment, when the switching between the front and the back images of a person occurs, the image of the person becomes completely transparent at a certain timing. The front image of the person gradually becomes transparent, disappears for a moment, and changes to the back image of the person. As a result, a user at a remote place can recognize the switching as a smooth image change. 
     Other Embodiments 
     Embodiment(s) of the present disclosure can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like. 
     While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions. 
     This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-152091, filed Jul. 31, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.