An incorrect operation is prevented from occurring in a tracking system for keeping track of a photographic object and taking a picture of the photographic object. When a body which is most likely to be recognized incorrectly as a photographic object exists, pan/tilt driving is carried out on a lens block employed in the tracking system so that an optical axis of the lens block is brought into the range of an angle set as an allowed-drive range. By doing so, the lens block will never take a picture of the body. As a result, an incorrect operation can be prevented from occurring due to incorrect recognition of the body as a photographic object.
An automated system for controlling multiple pan/tilt/zoom video cameras in such a way as to allow a person to be initially designated and tracked thereafter as he/she moves through the various camera fields of view. Tracking is initiated either by manual selection of the designated person on the system monitor (82) through the usage of a pointing device (83), or by automated selection of the designated person using software. The computation of the motion control signal is performed on a computer (81) through software using information derived from the cameras connected to the system, and is configured in such a way as to allow the system to pass tracking control from one camera to the next, as the designated person moves from one region to another. The system self-configuration is accomplished by the user's performance of a specific procedure involving the movement and tracking of a marker throughout the facility.
Provided is a camera control system which will not invade one's privacy even if a camera is located where there is a problem in terms of privacy. To accomplish this, the system is provided with an input unit for inputting a control command for controlling shooting direction or zoom magnification of the camera, a calculation unit for calculating, on the basis of the control command input by the input unit, an area to be imaged by the camera, a limiting unit for limiting a control range of the zoom magnification of the camera in a case where the imaging area of the camera calculated by the calculation unit overlaps a prescribed area; and a control unit for controlling the zoom magnification of the camera so as to fall within the control range, which has been limited by the limiting unit, in a case where the zoom magnification of the camera exceeds the control range limited by the limiting unit.
A method for reacquiring a target in an automated video tracking system is provided. The method includes the steps of: selecting a desired target to be tracked; switching the automated video tracking system to an automatic mode to initiate a tracking sequence to automatically track the selected desired target; switching the automated video tracking system from an automatic mode to a manual mode if the automated video tracking system encounters a period of difficulty in tracking the desired target; reacquiring the desired target in manual mode; and switching the automated video tracking system to the automatic mode for automatic tracking of the reacquired desired target without initiating a new tracking sequence. An apparatus and automated video tracking system for carrying out the methods of the present invention are also provided.
An image capturing apparatus (100) of an image taker side has an image capturing unit (101) which captures an image using a CCD sensor, a CMOS sensor and the like, an image capturing restriction signal receiving unit (102) which receives an image capturing restriction signal transmitted by a communication terminal (200), and an image capturing restriction unit (103) which restricts the image capturing performed by the image capturing unit (101) according to a request of the image capturing restriction signal. Further, the communication terminal (200) of a subject side has an image capturing restriction signal generation unit (201) which transmits the image capturing restriction signal for requesting to restrict the image capturing.
