US-12621561-B2 - Control device and control method

US12621561B2US 12621561 B2US12621561 B2US 12621561B2US-12621561-B2

Abstract

Provided is a control device and a control method and a program that are capable of efficiently performing continuous imaging on main subjects as targets. The control device according to the present technology determines, on the basis of distances to respective main subjects included in an imaging range, the main subjects away from each other by a distance equal to or larger than a threshold distance to be the main subjects different from each other and controls continuous imaging on each of the main subjects, as targets, determined to be the main subjects that are different. The present technology is applicable to a device having an imaging function such as a digital still camera or a smartphone.

Inventors

Shuichi Goto

Assignees

Sony Group Corporation

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220217
Priority Date: 20210625

Claims (10)

1 . A control device, comprising: a main subject determination unit configured to: divide a main subjects region on a main subject degree map into a plurality of sub-regions having a specific size, wherein the main subject degree map indicates a degree of likeliness of a plurality of main subjects included as a pixel value of an individual pixel; and determine, based on a distance to each sub-region of the plurality of sub-regions, two main subjects that are different, wherein the plurality of main subjects comprises the two main subjects, and the determination that the two main subjects are different is based on a distance between the two main subjects being equal to or larger than a threshold distance; and an imaging control unit configured to control a continuous imaging operation on each main subject of the two main subjects as a target.
2 . The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the two main subjects includes a first main subject, the main subject determination unit is further configured to determine, at a time the first main subject is in focus, a second main subject of the plurality of main subjects within a depth of field same as that of the first main subject, and the imaging control unit is further configured to perform imaging once on the first main subject and the second main subject.
3 . The control device according to claim 1 , further comprising a depth map generation unit configured to generate a depth map indicating a distance to each of the plurality of main subjects included in an imaging range.
4 . The control device according to claim 3 , wherein the depth map generation unit is further configured to generate the depth map based on a basis of information obtained from a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor.
5 . The control device according to claim 3 , further comprising a main subject detection unit configured to generate the main subject degree map.
6 . The control device according to claim 5 , wherein the main subject detection unit is further configured to generate the main subject degree map based on an inference model having an image as an input and the main subject degree map as an output.
7 . The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the imaging control unit is further configured to control focus bracket imaging operation for the continuous imaging operation.
8 . The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the imaging control unit is further configured to control exposure bracket imaging operation in which the continuous imaging operation is based on exposure associated with each of the two main subjects.
9 . A control method, comprising: dividing a main subjects region on a main subject degree map into a plurality of sub-regions having a specific size, wherein the main subject degree map indicates a degree of likeliness of a plurality of main subjects included as a pixel value of an individual pixel; and determining, based on a distance to each sub-region of the plurality of sub-regions, two main subjects that are different, wherein the plurality of main subjects comprises the two main subjects, and the determination that the two main subjects are different is based on a distance between the two main subjects being equal to or larger than a threshold distance; and controlling continuous imaging operation on each main subject of the two main subjects as a target.
10 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon, computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute operations, the operations comprising: dividing a main subjects region on a main subject degree map into a plurality of sub-regions having a specific size, wherein the main subject degree map indicates a degree of likeliness of a plurality of main subjects included as a pixel value of an individual pixel; and determining, based on a distance to each sub-region of the plurality of sub-regions, two main subjects that are different, wherein the plurality of main subjects comprises the two main subjects, and the determination that the two main subjects are different is based on a distance between the two main subjects being equal to or larger than a threshold distance; and controlling continuous imaging operation on each main subject of the two main subjects as a target.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a U.S. National Phase of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2022/006303 filed on Feb. 17, 2022, which claims priority benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2021-105418 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Jun. 25, 2021. Each of the above-referenced applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present technology relates to a control device, a control method, and a program, and more particularly to a control device, a control method, and a program that are capable of efficiently performing continuous imaging on main subjects as targets. BACKGROUND ART Some devices having an imaging function, such as digital still cameras and smartphones, have a function of focus bracket imaging. The focus bracket imaging is an imaging method in which imaging is continuously performed a plurality of times with the focus position being shifted. Using the focus bracket imaging function allows a user to capture a plurality of images in which each subject is in focus by a single release operation. CITATION LIST Patent Document Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-120949 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention With the improvement of the autofocus function, it is possible to perform focus bracket imaging while shifting a focus position (focal length) at smaller step sizes, but it is not efficient to capture images by using high resolution at the focus position and focusing on all the lengths. In addition, if a plurality of images is captured with the focus position being shifted, there is no meaning if the main subject is not in focus. The present technology has been made in view of such a situation, and is intended to enable efficient continuous imaging on main subjects as targets. Solutions to Problems A control device according to one aspect of the present technology includes a main subject determination unit that determines, on the basis of distances to respective main subjects included in an imaging range, the main subjects that are away from each other by a distance equal to or larger than a threshold distance to be the main subjects that are different from each other, and an imaging control unit that controls continuous imaging on each of the main subjects, as targets, determined to be the main subjects that are different. According to an aspect of the present technology, on the basis of distances to respective main subjects included in an imaging range, the main subjects that are away from each other by a distance equal to or larger than a threshold distance are determined to be the main subjects that are different from each other and continuous imaging on each of the main subjects, as targets, determined to be the main subjects that are different is controlled. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of subjects to be imaged by an imaging device. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of main subject determination processing. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of focus bracket imaging by the imaging device. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the imaging device. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of a control unit. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an imaging scene. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a main subject degree map. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating imaging processing of the imaging device. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating main subject determination processing performed in step S3 of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of hardware of a computer. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present technology will be described. The description will be given in the following order. 1. Focus bracket imaging2. Configuration of imaging device3. Operation of imaging device4. Others <1. Focus Bracket Imaging> FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of subjects to be imaged by an imaging device 1 according to an embodiment of the present technology. The imaging device 1 is a device having an imaging function, such as a smartphone, a digital still camera, or a monitoring camera. The imaging device 1 has a function of focus bracket imaging. The focus bracket imaging is an imaging method in which imaging is continuously performed a plurality of times with the focus position being shifted. Furthermore, the imaging device 1 has a function of detecting main subjects that are main subjects from among the subjects included in an imaging range. For example, the imaging device 1 detects main subjects on the basis of an image captured at the time of preview imaging before execution of focus bracket imaging. A specific type of subject such as a person or a building, a subject appearing large, and the like are detected as the main subject