CN-122027882-A - Character control device, method, system, computer readable medium, and program product

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to character control apparatuses, methods, systems, computer readable media, and program products. A character control apparatus is disclosed that controls an operation of a physical camera according to a character set for one of virtual cameras associated with the physical camera. The character control means generates first information indicating correspondence between a plurality of virtual cameras and respective characters set for the virtual cameras, and sets a character for each of the plurality of virtual cameras.

Inventors

• MASAYUKI ISHIZAWA

Assignees

• 佳能株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20251111

Priority Date

20241111

Claims (20)

1. 1. A character control apparatus that controls an operation of a physical camera according to a character set for one of a plurality of virtual cameras, at least one of the plurality of virtual cameras being associated with the physical camera, the character control apparatus comprising: a first generation means for generating first information indicating correspondence between the plurality of virtual cameras and the respective roles set for the virtual cameras, and Setting means for setting a role for each of the plurality of virtual cameras based on the first information.
2. 2. The character control device according to claim 1, further comprising: And a second generation means for generating second information indicating correspondence between the plurality of physical cameras and the plurality of virtual cameras.
3. 3. The character control device according to claim 1, Wherein the first generating means generates the first information in a state where the character control device is not incorporated in an image capturing system including a plurality of physical cameras.
4. 4. The character control device according to claim 2, Wherein the second generating means generates the second information in a state where the character control device is incorporated in an image capturing system including the plurality of physical cameras.
5. 5. The character control device according to claim 1, Wherein the roles include a role of a primary camera and a role of a secondary camera, and the role of the secondary camera includes information indicating a method of operation control by an external device.
6. 6. The character control device according to claim 5, Wherein a physical camera associated with a virtual camera set with a role of a secondary camera is controlled to operate cooperatively with another physical camera associated with the virtual camera that has been set as a cooperative target of the role.
7. 7. The character control device according to claim 6, Wherein the other physical camera is a physical camera associated with a virtual camera set to a specific role.
8. 8. The character control device according to claim 7, Wherein the specific role is the role of the master camera.
9. 9. The character control device according to claim 6, further comprising: And a transmitting section for transmitting third information indicating definition of the character to the external device.
10. 10. The character control device according to claim 9, further comprising: Fourth generation means for generating third information indicating definition of the character.
11. 11. The character control device according to claim 10, Wherein the cooperative target is set in the third information.
12. 12. The character control device according to claim 1, further comprising: One or more processors, and A storage device configured to store: a plurality of pieces of first information each indicating a different combination of correspondence between the plurality of virtual cameras and characters set for the respective virtual cameras, and A computer program that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to select one of the pieces of first information selected in response to a user operation.
13. 13. The character control device according to claim 2, further comprising: A specifying section that specifies a role set for each of the plurality of virtual cameras based on the first information and the second information; A third generation means for generating fourth information indicating correspondence between the plurality of physical cameras and roles set for the physical cameras, and And transmitting means for transmitting the fourth information to an external device instead of the first information and the second information.
14. 14. The character control device according to claim 2, further comprising: a specifying section for specifying, for each of the plurality of physical cameras, a character that has been set for the physical camera based on the first information and the second information, and determining whether the character is appropriate, and And a warning unit for giving a warning when the role is determined to be inappropriate.
15. 15. The character control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission section for transmitting the first information to an external device that controls the operation of each of the plurality of physical cameras.
16. 16. The character control device according to claim 2, further comprising: a transmission section for transmitting the first information and the second information to an external device that controls an operation of each of the plurality of physical cameras.
17. 17. The character control device according to claim 12, further comprising: And a transmission section for transmitting the one piece of first information among the pieces of first information selected by the user to an external device.
18. 18. An image capture system, comprising: A plurality of physical cameras; The character control device according to any one of claims 1 to 17, and An external device that controls an operation of each of the plurality of physical cameras using the first information transmitted by the character control device according to a character set for a virtual camera associated with each physical camera.
19. 19. A character control method for controlling an operation of a physical camera according to a character set for one of a plurality of virtual cameras associated with the physical camera, the character control method comprising: generating first information indicating correspondence between the plurality of virtual cameras and respective roles set for the virtual cameras, and A character is set for each of the plurality of virtual cameras.
20. 20. A computer readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the character control method of claim 19.

Description

Character control device, method, system, computer readable medium, and program product Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a character control apparatus, a character control method, an image capturing control system, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product. The present disclosure relates particularly to techniques for automatically controlling the operation of an image capture device. Background Japanese patent laid-open No.2020-25248 discloses an image capturing system in which a plurality of cameras are divided into one main camera and a plurality of sub-cameras, and the sub-cameras are controlled to capture an image of the same subject as that captured by the main camera. Disclosure of Invention In the image capturing system described in japanese patent laid-open No.2020-25248, image capturing by the sub-camera can be automatically controlled, so that labor saving can be achieved. However, there is still room for improvement in the degree of freedom of image capturing control of the sub-camera. The present disclosure provides, in one aspect thereof, a character control apparatus and a character control method for realizing automatic image capturing control with a high degree of freedom. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a character control apparatus that controls an operation of a physical camera according to a character set for one of a plurality of virtual cameras, at least one of the plurality of virtual cameras being associated with the physical camera, the character control apparatus including first generating means for generating first information indicating correspondence between the plurality of virtual cameras and respective characters set for the virtual cameras, and setting means for setting a character for each of the plurality of virtual cameras based on the first information. According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image capturing system including a plurality of physical cameras, a character control device according to the present disclosure, and an external device controlling an operation of each of the plurality of physical cameras using first information transmitted by the character control device according to a character set for a virtual camera associated with each of the physical cameras. According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a role control method for controlling an operation of a physical camera according to a role set for one of a plurality of virtual cameras associated with the physical camera, the role control method including generating first information indicating correspondence between the plurality of virtual cameras and respective roles set for the virtual cameras, and setting a role for each of the plurality of virtual cameras. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform a role control method in accordance with the present disclosure. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform a role control method in accordance with the present disclosure. Features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description of the embodiments is by way of example. Drawings The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the embodiments. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration example of an image capturing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing examples of setting screens presented by the character control apparatus according to the embodiment. Fig. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating examples of setting information according to an embodiment. Fig. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating an example of setting information according to an embodiment. Fig. 5 is a flowchart relating to processing performed by the character control apparatus according to the embodiment. Fig. 6 is a flowchart relating to processing performed by the character control apparatus according to the embodiment. Fig. 7 is a flowchart relating to processing performed by the character control apparatus according to the embodiment. Fig. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing an example of a control operation based on character setting. Fig. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing another example of a control operation based on character setting. Fig. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing still another