Information processing apparatus, and information processing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016279809-A1
Application number	US-201615077609-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 22, 2016
Priority date	Mar 27, 2015
Publication date	Sep 29, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An information processing apparatus having a changed region detection unit performs a process that includes repeating a cycle. The cycle includes causing a projection unit to project a pattern, that includes light and dark portions, onto target objects, causing an image capturing unit to capture an image of the target objects while the pattern is being projected by the projection unit, and causing a holding unit to hold one of the target objects based on a captured image obtained by the image capturing processing. Based on a reference boundary position corresponding to a boundary between the light and dark portions in the pattern in the captured image obtained in a previous cycle and a target boundary position in the captured image obtained in a current cycle, the changed region detection unit detects a changed region with a change between the previous cycle and the current cycle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An information processing apparatus configured to perform a process that includes repeating a cycle, wherein the cycle includes executing projection processing of causing a projection unit to project a pattern, that includes light and dark portions, onto a plurality of target objects, executing image capturing processing of causing an image capturing unit to capture an image of the plurality of target objects while the pattern is being projected by the projection unit, and causing a holding unit to hold one of the plurality of target objects based on a captured image obtained by the image capturing processing, the information processing apparatus comprising:
a changed region detection unit configured to detect, based on a reference boundary position corresponding to a boundary between the light and dark portions in the pattern in the captured image obtained in a previous cycle and a target boundary position in the captured image obtained in a current cycle, a changed region with a change between the previous cycle and the current cycle.

2 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a comparison unit configured to compare the reference boundary position with the target boundary position,
wherein the changed region detection unit is configured to detect the changed region based on a result obtained by the comparison unit.

3 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when a difference between the reference boundary position and the target boundary position that has been detected is larger than a threshold, a region including the target boundary position in the captured image obtained in the current cycle is detected as the changed region.

4 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a projection controller configured to cause the projection unit to project, in the previous cycle, a plurality of the patterns, wherein each of the plurality of the patterns includes light and dark portions, and to project, in the current cycle, only a first pattern of the plurality of patterns.

5 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the first pattern is a pattern in which at least one of the light and dark portions has a smallest width in the plurality of patterns.

6 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 5 ,
wherein the reference boundary position is a position corresponding to a boundary between the light and dark portions in the first pattern in which at least one of the light and dark portions has the smallest width in the plurality of patterns, and wherein the target boundary position is a position corresponding to the boundary between the light and dark portions in the first pattern.

7 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a storage unit configured to store the reference boundary position.

8 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to cause the holding unit to hold, based on a plurality of images captured when a plurality of respective patterns is projected by the projection unit, a target object of the plurality of target objects that is able to be held by the holding unit,
wherein the changed region is a region with a change as a result of a holding operation in the previous cycle.

9 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to
cause the holding unit to hold one target object of the plurality of the target objects that is able to be held, and then, excluding the one target object that has been held by the holding unit, and cause the holding unit to hold a target object of the plurality of target objects that is able to be held and that is not in the changed region that has been detected.

10 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising a projection controller configured to cause the projection unit to project the plurality of patterns when the target objects that are able to be held include no target object outside the changed region that has been detected.

11 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of target objects is randomly arranged.

12 . An information processing apparatus configured to perform a process that includes repeating a cycle, wherein the cycle includes executing projection processing of causing a projection unit to project a coded pattern, that includes light and dark portions, onto a plurality of target objects, executing image capturing processing of causing an image capturing unit to capture an image of the plurality of target objects while the coded pattern is being projected by the projection unit, and causing a holding unit to hold one of the plurality of target objects based on a captured image obtained by the image capturing processing, the information processing apparatus comprising:
a changed region detection unit configured to detect, based on a first code value determined based on the coded pattern in the captured image obtained in a previous cycle and a second code value determined based on a coded pattern in the captured image obtained in a current cycle, a changed region with a change between the previous cycle and the current cycle.

13 . The information processing method according to claim 12 , wherein the changed region detection unit is configured to compare the first code value and the second code value for each predetermined region, and to determine, as the changed region, a region in which a difference value between the first code value and the second code value is larger than a threshold.

14 . The information processing method according to claim 12 , wherein the second code value is determined based on both the captured image obtained in the previous cycle and the captured image obtained in the current cycle.

15 . The information processing method according to claim 12 , further comprising a projection controller configured to cause the projection unit to project, in the previous cycle, a plurality of the patterns, wherein each of the plurality of the patterns includes light and dark portions, and to project, in the current cycle, only a first pattern of the plurality of patterns.

16 . The information processing method according to claim 15 , wherein the first pattern is a pattern in which at least one of the light and dark portions has a smallest width in the plurality of patterns.

17 . The information processing method according to claim 15 ,
wherein the first code value is determined based on images captured when the plurality of respective patterns is projected in the previous cycle, and wherein the second code value is determined based on the image captured with a pattern, other than the first pattern, in the plurality of patterns projected in the previous cycle, and an image obtained with the first pattern projected in the current cycle.

18 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 14 , further comprising a storage unit configured to store the first code value.

19 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 14 , further comprising a controller configured to cause the holding unit to hold, based on a plurality of images captured when a plurality of respective patterns is projected by the projection unit, a target object of the plurality of target objects that is able to be held by the holding unit,
wherein the changed region is a

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Nakajima Masaki
• Yoshii Hiroto
• Yoshikawa Hiroshi
• Uchiyama Shinji

Classifications

• G06V20/10 Primary

  Terrestrial scenes (scenes under surveillance with static cameras G06V20/52; scenes perceived from the exterior of a vehicle G06V20/56; scenes perceived from the interior of a vehicle G06V20/59) · CPC title

• H04N7/183

  for receiving images from a single remote source · CPC title

• B25J9/1697

  Vision controlled systems · CPC title

• G06T7/254

  involving subtraction of images · CPC title

• G06T7/001

  using an image reference approach · CPC title