Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and recording medium recording information processing program

This application is a continuation application of International Application PCT/JP2017/024856 filed on Jul. 6, 2017 and designated the U.S., the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The embodiment relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program.

An electronic conference system is performed by using a projector with a camera.

Related art is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2015-109565, International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 2016/147373, and Non-Patent Document 1: Keita Higuchi, 4 others, “ImmerseBoard: Immersive Telepresence Experience using a Digital Whiteboard”, Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 2015, pp. 2383 to 2392.

According to an aspect of the embodiments, an information processing apparatus includes: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to: determine, when a first apparatus displays a part of contents, whether or not a user who operates a second apparatus which is different from the first apparatus is at a position where it is possible to operate the part of the contents among the contents displayed on the first apparatus; and cause the first apparatus to display an image indicating that the user is present at the position where it is possible to operate the part of the contents based on a determination result.

The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention.

FIG. 1 is an example of an information processing system.

FIG. 2 is an example of a configuration of a first content display apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an example of a hardware configuration of a server apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an example of a block diagram of the server apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation of a measurement-side control unit.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining coordinate conversion on a measurement side.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are views for explaining screen sharing between the measurement side and a display side.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation of a display-side control unit.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining coordinate conversion on the measurement side.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are display examples of shadow images when entire content is displayed without enlarging a window.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are display examples of a shadow image when a window is enlarged and a part of content is displayed.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are display examples of a shadow image when a window is enlarged and a part of content is displayed.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are display examples of a shadow image when a window is enlarged and a part of content is displayed.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are display examples of a shadow image when a window is enlarged and a part of content is displayed.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a partial operation of a display-side control unit.

FIGS. 16A and 16B are views for explaining an example of aggregation of shadow images.

FIGS. 17A to 17C are examples of various weight functions used at a time of aggregation.

FIGS. 18A and 18B are other views for explaining an example of aggregation of shadow images.

FIGS. 19A and 19B are other views for explaining an example of aggregation of shadow images.

For example, an electronic conference system that uses a projector with a camera to notify a remote place of how a writing operation and a pointing operation performed on a whiteboard. For example, in a multi-display system, a single content image (hereinafter simply referred to as content) is displayed on the entire screen in which the display screen of a left display and the display screen of a right display are arranged.

For example, the position of a user in front of a display in a certain site is measured and an image of the user at that position on the screen of a display in another site is displayed. Thus, the user in each site can appropriately tell the other party an instruction target in a shared screen displayed on the displays of the respective sites.

However, the above-described technique only discloses a case where screens of the same size are shared. For example, there is a problem that when a user in one site performs an operation to enlarge a screen displayed on the display, an image of a user in the other site is excluded from the screen displayed on the display in the one site, and this image does not appear within the screen.

Accordingly, in one aspect, an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program capable of determining presence of a user at a position where a content can be operated when the content is shared by a plurality of apparatuses may be provided.

Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an information processing system 10 . The information processing system 10 includes a first content display apparatus 11 , a second content display apparatus 12 , and a server apparatus 13 as an information processing apparatus.

Both the first content display apparatus 11 and the second content display apparatus 12 are devices that display content on a screen. The first content display apparatus 11 is installed, for example, in a site P, and the second content display apparatus 12 is installed, for example, in a site Q different from the site P. On the other hand, the server apparatus 13 is an apparatus that controls operation of the first content display apparatus 11 and the second content display apparatus 12 . The server apparatus 13 may be installed in a site different from the site P and the site Q, or may be installed at one of the site P and the site Q. The first content display apparatus 11 , the second content display apparatus 12 , and the server apparatus 13 are connected to each other by a communication network NW. Examples of the communication network NW include a local area network (LAN), the Internet, and the like.

Next, a detailed configuration of the first content display apparatus 11 described above will be described with reference to FIG. 2 . Note that a detailed configuration of the second content display apparatus 12 is basically similar to that of the first content display apparatus 11 , and thus the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the configuration of the first content display apparatus 11 . As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the first content display apparatus 11 includes projectors 100 , 101 , infrared cameras 200 , 201 , a live camera 210 , and an electronic pen 300 . The projectors 100 , 101 , the infrared cameras 200 , 201 , and the live camera 210 are connected to each other by wire or wirelessly.

The projector 100 displays a display area (hereinafter referred to as a window) 22 for displaying a shared application in a display screen 21 on a table 20 , and displays various operable contents 23 in the displayed window 22 . The display screen 21 is an area where the projector 100 can display the window 22 . Examples of the shared application include application software that implements imitation paper, application software that implements a personal note of a worker, and the like. On the other hand, the projector 101 displays a window 26 in a display screen 25 , for example, on a wall surface or a screen (hereinafter simply referred to as a wall surface) 24 and displays various operable contents 27 in the displayed window 26 . The display screen 25 is an area where the projector 101 can display the window 26 . Note that the contents 23 , 27 illustrated in FIG. 2 include, for example, a sticky note, a photograph, a graph, an icon, or the like. The contents 23 , 27 are displayed in a predetermined size or a size specified by a user 30 .

The electronic pen 300 includes a light emitting element that emits infrared light at a tip. When the electronic pen 300 is turned on, the light emitting element emits light. For example, when the user 30 takes an action of drawing a rectangle in the display screen 25 using the electronic pen 300 that emits light, the infrared camera 201 captures an infrared trajectory. For example, when the window 26 is enlarged by the user 30 using the electronic pen 300 emitting light, the infrared camera 201 captures an infrared trajectory thereof. On the other hand, the live camera 210 captures an image within an imaging area including each user 30 . An example of the live camera 210 is a video camera and the like. The live camera 210 periodically transmits an image in the imaging area (hereinafter referred to as a captured image) to the server apparatus 13 .

The server apparatus 13 controls operation of the projectors 100 , 101 . For example, when the server apparatus 13 accepts the infrared ray trajectory described above from the infrared camera 201 , the server apparatus 13 determines the accepted infrared ray trajectory and causes the projector 101 to display a content 27 , or display the window 26 by enlarging the size of the window 26 , based on a determination result. For example, when the server apparatus 13 accepts a captured image of the site Q from a live camera included in the second content display apparatus 12 , the server apparatus 13 calculates position coordinates of a user in the site Q based on the accepted captured image. When the server apparatus 13 calculates the position coordinates of the user in the site Q, the server apparatus 13 causes the projector 101 to display a shadow image 40 of the user in the site Q at a position in the display screen 25 corresponding to the calculated position coordinates. Thus, the user 30 in the site P can confirm a content 27 designated as an operation target by the user in the site Q. Note that the shadow image 40 is an image corresponding to a shadow of the user in the site Q, and is represented in black, for example. However, the color of the shadow image 40 is not limited to black, and may be a color such as red or blue. Further, instead of the shadow image 40 , an image imitating a user in the site Q, and the like, may be used.

Next, a hardware configuration of the server apparatus 13 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 .

FIG. 3 is an example of the hardware configuration of the server apparatus 13 . As illustrated in FIG. 3 , the server apparatus 13 includes at least a central processing unit (CPU) 130 A as a processor, a random access memory (RAM) 130 B, a read only memory (ROM) 130 C, and a network interface (hereinafter referred to as I/F) 130 D. The server apparatus 13 may include at least one of a hard disk drive (HDD) 130 E, an input I/F 130 F, an output I/F 130 G, an input-output I/F 130 H, and a drive device 130 I as needed. The CPU 130 A to the drive device 130 I are connected to each other by an internal bus 130 J. At least the CPU 130 A and the RAM 130 B cooperate to implement a computer. Note that a micro processing unit (MPU) may be used as a processor instead of the CPU 130 A.

An input device 710 is connected to the input I/F 130 F. Examples of the input device 710 include a keyboard, a mouse, and the like. A display device 720 is connected to an output I/F 130 G. An example of the display device 720 is a liquid crystal display. A semiconductor memory 730 is connected to an input-output I/F 130 H. Examples of the semiconductor memory 730 include a universal serial bus (USB) memory, a flash memory, and the like. The input-output I/F 130 H reads a program and data stored in the semiconductor memory 730 . The input I/F 130 F and the input-output I/F 130 H have, for example, USB ports. The output I/F 130 G has, for example, a display port.

A portable recording medium 740 is inserted into the drive device 130 I. Examples of the portable recording medium 740 include removable disks such as a compact disc (CD)-ROM and a digital versatile disc (DVD). The drive device 130 I reads a program and data recorded in the portable recording medium 740 . The network I/F 130 D has a LAN port, for example. The network I/F 130 D is connected to the communication network NW described above.

Programs stored in the ROM 130 C and the HDD 130 E are stored in the RAM 130 B described above by the CPU 130 A. A program recorded in the portable recording medium 740 is stored in the RAM 130 B by the CPU 130 A. By executing the stored program by the CPU 130 A, various functions to be described later are implemented and various processes to be described later are executed. Note that the program only have to be in accordance with flowcharts to be described later.

Next, the functional configuration of the server apparatus 13 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 .

FIG. 4 is an example of a block diagram of the server apparatus 13 . As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the server apparatus 13 includes a measurement-side control unit 131 and a display-side control unit 132 as processing units. In the present embodiment, one server apparatus 13 includes the measurement-side control unit 131 and the display-side control unit 132 , but the server apparatus 13 may include the measurement-side control unit 131 , and another server apparatus (not illustrated) may include the display-side control unit 132 separately. In this case, the server apparatus 13 including the measurement-side control unit 131 may be disposed in the site Q, and the other server apparatus including the display-side control unit 132 may be disposed in the site P.

The measurement-side control unit 131 includes a transmission-reception unit 151 , a position calculation unit 152 , a coordinate conversion unit 153 , and an image display unit 154 . The display-side control unit 132 includes a transmission-reception unit 161 , a position calculation unit 162 , a coordinate conversion unit 163 , and an image display unit 164 . Note that the transmission-reception units 151 , 161 are achieved by the network I/F 130 D described above, for example. The position calculation units 152 , 162 , the coordinate conversion units 153 , 163 , and the image display units 154 , 164 are achieved by the CPU 130 A and the RAM 130 B described above, for example.

First, the measurement-side control unit 131 will be described.

The transmission-reception unit 151 controls communication between the transmission-reception unit 161 and the second content display apparatus 12 with the position calculation unit 152 , the coordinate conversion unit 153 , and the image display unit 154 . Specifically, the transmission-reception unit 151 receives various types of information transmitted from the transmission-reception unit 161 and the second content display apparatus 12 . Then, the transmission-reception unit 151 outputs the information to the position calculation unit 152 , the coordinate conversion unit 153 , or the image display unit 154 according to the type of the received information. Further, the transmission-reception unit 151 accepts various types of information output from the position calculation unit 152 , the coordinate conversion unit 153 , or the image display unit 154 . Then, the transmission-reception unit 151 transmits the information to the transmission-reception unit 161 or the second content display apparatus 12 according to the type of the accepted information.

When the position calculation unit 152 accepts information output from the transmission-reception unit 151 , the position calculation unit 152 calculates position coordinates of the user in the site Q (hereinafter referred to as a measurement-side user) based on the accepted information. For example, when the position calculation unit 152 accepts a captured image captured by a live camera (not illustrated) included in the second content display apparatus 12 , the position calculation unit 152 calculates position coordinates of the head, fingertip, center of gravity, and so on of the measurement-side user in a planar coordinate system (hereinafter referred to as a screen coordinate system) with an upper left corner of the display screen of the site Q being an origin.

When the coordinate conversion unit 153 accepts information output from the transmission-reception unit 151 , the coordinate conversion unit 153 converts the position coordinates of the measurement-side user in the screen coordinate system of the site Q into position coordinates of the measurement-side user in a planar coordinate system (referred to as a window coordinate system) with an upper left corner of the window being an origin, based on the accepted information. Further, the coordinate conversion unit 153 converts the position coordinates of the measurement-side user in the window coordinate system into the position coordinates of the measurement-side user in a planar coordinate system (hereinafter referred to as a content coordinate system) with an upper left corner of the content being an origin.

When the image display unit 154 accepts information output from the transmission-reception unit 151 , the image display unit 154 executes various information processing based on the accepted information. For example, the image display unit 154 inquires the second content display apparatus 12 about windows present within a predetermined distance that represents a range of reach of hand by the measurement-side user from the position of the measurement-side user in the screen coordinate system. For example, the image display unit 154 displays a shadow image (not illustrated) of a user in the site P (hereinafter referred to as a display-side user) on a wall surface of the site Q or the like.

Next, the display-side control unit 132 will be described.

The transmission-reception unit 161 controls communication between the transmission-reception unit 151 and the first content display apparatus 11 with the position calculation unit 162 , the coordinate conversion unit 163 , and the image display unit 164 . Specifically, the transmission-reception unit 161 receives various types of information transmitted from the transmission-reception unit 151 and the first content display apparatus 11 . Then, the transmission-reception unit 161 outputs the information to the position calculation unit 162 , the coordinate conversion unit 163 , or the image display unit 164 according to the type of the received information. Further, the transmission-reception unit 161 accepts various types of information output from the position calculation unit 162 , the coordinate conversion unit 163 , or the image display unit 164 . Then, the transmission-reception unit 161 transmits the information to the transmission-reception unit 151 or the first content display apparatus 11 according to the type of information accepted.

When the position calculation unit 162 accepts information output from the transmission-reception unit 161 , the position calculation unit 162 calculates position coordinates of the display-side user 30 based on the accepted information. For example, when the position calculation unit 162 accepts a captured image captured by the live camera 210 included in the first content display apparatus 11 , the position calculation unit 162 calculates position coordinates of the head, fingertip, center of gravity, and so on of the display-side user 30 in a screen coordinate system of the site P.

When the coordinate conversion unit 163 accepts information output from the transmission-reception unit 161 , the coordinate conversion unit 163 converts the position coordinates of the display-side user 30 in the screen coordinate system of the site P into position coordinates of the display-side user 30 in a window coordinate system of the site P, based on the accepted information. Further, the coordinate conversion unit 163 converts the position coordinates of the display-side user 30 in the window coordinate system of the site P into position coordinates of the display-side user 30 in a content coordinate system of the site P.

When the image display unit 164 accepts information output from the transmission-reception unit 151 , the image display unit 164 executes various information processing based on the accepted information. For example, the image display unit 164 inquires the first content display apparatus 11 about windows present within a predetermined distance that represents a range of reach of hand by the measurement-side user from the position of the measurement-side user in the screen coordinate system. For example, the image display unit 164 displays a shadow image 40 of the measurement-side user on a wall surface 24 of the site P or the like.

Next, operation of the information processing system 10 will be described.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation of the measurement-side control unit 131 . FIG. 6 is a view for explaining coordinate conversion on the measurement side. FIGS. 7A and 7B are views for explaining screen sharing between the measurement side and the display side.

First, as illustrated in FIG. 5 , the position calculation unit 152 calculates position coordinates of a measurement-side user (step S 101 ). More specifically, when the position calculation unit 152 accepts a captured image captured by the live camera of the second content display apparatus 12 , the position calculation unit 152 calculates position coordinates in the screen coordinate system of the measurement-side user included in the display screen of the site Q from the captured image. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6 , when the position calculation unit 152 accepts the captured image, the position calculation unit 152 calculates position coordinates D s1 (D x s1 , D y s1 ) of the measurement-side user in a screen coordinate system s 1 of a display screen 55 with an upper left corner being an origin O s1 .

When processing of step S 101 is completed, the image display unit 154 then inquires the second content display apparatus 12 about windows present within a range of a predetermined distance (for example, a radius of 1 meter) from the position coordinates D s1 (D x s1 , D y s1 ) (step S 102 ). Then, the image display unit 154 determines whether or not there is a window within the range of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates D s1 (D x s1 , D y s1 ) (step S 103 ). When there is no window within the range of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates D s1 (D x s1 , D y s1 ) (NO in step S 103 ), the image display unit 154 skips the subsequent process and ends the process.

On the other hand, when there is a window present within the range of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates D s1 (D x s1 , D y s1 ) (YES in step S 103 ), the image display unit 154 inquires a shared application displayed in all windows within the range of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates D s1 about positions of contents (step S 104 ). For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B , when the display screens 55 , 25 are shared between the measurement side representing the site Q and the display side representing the site P, a measurement-side window 56 is partially included within a range R of the predetermined distance from the position coordinate D s1 of the measurement-side user 32 . On the other hand, the measurement-side window 56 ′ is not included in the range R of the predetermined distance. In such a case, the image display unit 154 inquires the shared application displayed in the window 56 about positions of contents 57 a , 57 b , 57 c.

When processing in step S 104 is completed, the image display unit 154 then identifies a content present within the range of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates D s1 (D x s1 , D y s1 ) from positions of all contents answered from the shared application based on a result of inquiry (step S 105 ). Then, the image display unit 154 determines whether a content has been identified or not (step S 106 ). When the content has not been identified (NO in step S 106 ), the image display unit 154 skips the subsequent process and terminates the process.

On the other hand, when the content has been identified (YES in step S 106 ), the coordinate conversion unit 153 converts the position coordinates D s1 (D x s1 , D y s1 ) of the measurement-side user (step S 107 ). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7A , when the contents 57 a , 57 b are included within the range R of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates D s1 , and the content 57 c is not included in the range R of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates D s1 , the image display unit 154 identifies the contents 57 a , 57 b . Then, the coordinate conversion unit 153 converts the position coordinates D s1 (D x s1 , D y s1 ) into position coordinates C c1 (C x c1 , C y c1 ) in a content coordinate system c 1 of the content 57 a identified by the image display unit 154 and position coordinates C c2 (C x c2 , C y c2 ) in a content coordinate system c 2 of the content 57 b.

More specifically, based on the following conversion formula (1) using affine transformation, as illustrated in FIG. 6 , the coordinate conversion unit 153 converts the position coordinates D s1 (D x s1 , D y s1 ) of the measurement-side user in the screen coordinate system s 1 into position coordinates W w1 (W x w1 , W y w1 ) of the measurement-side user in a window coordinate system w 1 . Note that a rotation angle θ represents a rotation angle of the window 56 , and coordinates (a x , a y ) represent coordinates O w1 of an upper left corner of the window 56 in the screen coordinate system s 1 .

Next, based on the following conversion formula (2), the coordinate conversion unit 153 converts the position coordinates W w1 (W x w1 , W y w1 ) of the measurement-side user in the window coordinate system w 1 into the position coordinates C c1 (C x c1 , C y c1 ) of the measurement-side user in the content coordinate system c 1 . Note that coordinates (b x , b y ) represent coordinates O c1 of an upper left corner of the content 54 in the window coordinate system w 1 . Further, the coordinate conversion unit 153 can convert the position coordinates W w1 (W x w1 , W y w1 ) of the measurement-side user in the window coordinate system w 1 into the position coordinates C c2 (C x c2 , C y c2 ) of the measurement-side user in the content coordinate system c 2 by a similar method.

Returning to FIG. 5 , when processing of step S 107 is completed, the transmission-reception unit 151 transmits the position coordinates C c1 (C x c1 , C y c1 ) to the transmission-reception unit 161 together with an application ID for identifying the shared application and a content ID for identifying the content. (Step S 108 ), and the process ends. Note that the transmission-reception unit 151 similarly transmits the position coordinates C c2 (C x c2 , C y c2 ).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the display-side control unit 131 . FIG. 9 is a view for explaining coordinate conversion on the measurement side. FIGS. 10A and 10B are display examples of the shadow image 40 when all of contents 27 a , 27 b , 27 c are displayed without enlarging the window 26 .

First, as illustrated in FIG. 8 , the coordinate conversion unit 163 converts position coordinates of a measurement-side user in the content coordinate system (step S 201 ). Specifically, the coordinate conversion unit 163 converts position coordinates C c1 (C x c1 , C y c1 ) transmitted from the transmission-reception unit 151 and received by the transmission-reception unit 161 into position coordinates D s2 (D x s2 , D y s2 ) in a screen coordinate system s 2 .

More specifically, based on the following conversion formula (3), the coordinate conversion unit 163 converts the position coordinates C c1 (C x c1 , C y c1 ) of the measurement-side user in the content coordinate system c 1 into position coordinates W w2 (W x w2 , W y w2 ) of the measurement-side user in a window coordinate system w 2 , as illustrated in FIG. 9 . Note that coordinates (g x , g y ) represent coordinates O c1 of an upper left corner of the content 27 a in the window coordinate system w 2 .

Next, based on the following conversion formula (4) using inverse affine transformation, the coordinate conversion unit 163 converts the position coordinates W w2 (W x w2 , W y w2 ) of the measurement-side user in the window coordinate system w 2 into the position coordinates D s2 (D x s2 , D y s2 ) of the measurement-side user in the screen coordinate system s 2 . Note that the rotation angle φ represents a rotation angle of the window coordinate system w 2 , and the coordinates (h x , h y ) represent origin coordinates O w2 of an upper left corner of the window in the screen coordinate system s 2 .

Note that the conversion formula (3) described above may be changed to the following conversion formula (3′). Thus, the physical size of the shadow image can be made the same in the both sites P, Q.

When processing of step S 201 is completed, the position calculation unit 162 then calculates position coordinates of a display-side user (step S 202 ). More specifically, when the position calculation unit 162 accepts a captured image captured by the live camera 210 of the first content display apparatus 11 , the position calculation unit 162 calculates position coordinates in the screen coordinate system s 2 of the display-side user 30 included in the display screen 15 of the site P from the captured image. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9 , when the position calculation unit 162 accepts a captured image, the position calculation unit 162 calculates position coordinates E s2 (E x s2 , E y s2 ) of the display-side user 30 in the screen coordinate system s 2 of the display screen 15 with an upper left corner being an origin O s2 .

When processing of step S 202 is completed, the image display unit 164 then inquires the first content display apparatus 11 about windows present within a range of a predetermined distance from the position coordinates E s2 (E x s2 , E y s2 ) (step S 203 ). Then, the image display unit 164 determines whether there is a window or not within the range of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates E s2 (E x s2 , E y s2 ) (step S 204 ). When there is no window within the range of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates E s2 (E x s2 , E y s2 ) (NO in step S 204 ), the image display unit 164 skips the subsequent process and ends the process.

On the other hand, when there is a window present within the range of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates E s2 (E x s2 , E y s2 ) (YES in step S 204 ), the image display unit 164 inquires the shared application that is displayed in each of all windows within the range of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates E s2 about positions of contents (step S 205 ). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7B , the display-side window 26 is partially included within a range R′ of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates E s2 of the display-side user 30 . On the other hand, the display-side window 26 ′ is not included in the range R′ of the predetermined distance. In such a case, the image display unit 164 inquires the shared application displayed in the window 26 about positions of contents 27 a , 27 b , 27 c.

When processing of step S 205 is completed, the image display unit 154 then identifies a content present within the range of the predetermined distance from the position coordinates E s2 (E x s2 , E y s2 ) from positions of all contents answered from the shared application based on a result of inquiry (step S 206 ). Then, the image display unit 154 determines whether a content has been identified or not (step S 207 ). When the content has not been identified (NO in step S 207 ), the image display unit 164 skips the subsequent process and ends the process.

On the other hand, when the content has been identified (YES in step S 207 ), the image display unit 164 selects the identified content (step S 208 ) and displays a shadow image (step S 209 ). Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B , shadow images are displayed near the selected contents 27 a , 27 b . More specifically, the shadow images 40 are displayed for the contents 27 a , 27 b corresponding to the contents 57 a , 57 b present within the range R of the predetermined distance that the measurement-side user 32 can reach by hand. On the other hand, no shadow image is displayed on the window 26 ′ corresponding to the window 56 ′ that is not within the range R of the predetermined distance that the measurement-side user 32 can reach by hand or on the content 27 c corresponding to the content 56 c . As described above, the image display unit 164 displays the shadow image 40 in units of shared applications and units of contents. Thus, the display-side user 30 in the site P can confirm by the shadow image 40 the contents 57 a , 57 b scheduled to be designated as an operation target by the measurement-side user 32 in the site Q.

Hereinafter, various display examples of the shadow image 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B to FIGS. 14A and 14B .

FIGS. 11A and 11B to FIGS. 14A and 14B are display examples of the shadow image 40 when the window 26 is enlarged to display a part of the contents 27 a , 27 b , 27 c . First, as illustrated in FIG. 11A , when the content 57 a is included in the range R of the predetermined distance that the measurement-side user 32 can reach by hand, as illustrated in FIG. 11B , the image display unit 164 displays the shadow image 40 near the content 27 a corresponding to the content 57 a . In particular, without using the positional relationship between the display position of the display screen 55 and the position coordinates D s1 of the measurement-side user 32 or the positional relationship between the display position of the window 56 and the position coordinates D w1 of the measurement-side user 32 , the image display unit 164 displays the shadow image 40 near the content 27 a using the positional relationship between the display position of the content 57 a and the position coordinates D c1 of the measurement-side user 32 . Thus, the problem that the shadow image 40 does not appear on the display screen 55 when the window 26 is enlarged is avoided. Note that although details will be described later, in a case illustrated in FIG. 11B , the shadow image 40 is displayed for the content 27 a outside the range R′ of the predetermined distance that the display-side user 30 can reach by hand.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 12A , when the contents 57 a , 57 b , 57 c are included within the range R of the predetermined distance that the measurement-side user 32 can reach by hand, as illustrated in FIG. 12B , the image display unit 164 displays the shadow images 40 near the content 27 a corresponding to the content 57 a and near the content 27 c corresponding to the content 57 c . On the other hand, the content 27 b corresponding to the content 57 b is excluded from the display target of the display screen 25 due to enlargement of the window 26 . In such a case, the image display unit 164 does not display the shadow image 40 corresponding to the content 27 b . Thus, the problem that the respective shadow images 40 for the contents 27 a , 27 c do not appear on the display screen 55 is avoided when the window 26 is enlarged and the content 27 b is excluded from the display screen 25 .

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 13A , when contents 57 a , 57 b , 57 c are included within the range R of the predetermined distance that the measurement-side user 32 can reach by hand, as illustrated in FIG. 13B , the image display unit 164 may display the shadow image 40 near the content 27 c , by limiting to the content 27 c corresponding to the content 57 c and present within the range R′ of the predetermined distance that the display-side user 30 can reach by hand. In other words, in the display examples of FIG. 11B and FIG. 12B described above, the image display unit 164 displays the shadow image 40 also for the content 27 a that the display-side user 30 cannot reach by hand, but as illustrated in FIG. 13B , the image display unit 164 does not need to display the shadow image 40 for the content 27 a that the display-side user 30 cannot reach by hand. This is because the display-side user 30 has little intention to operate the content 27 a since the display-side user 30 cannot reach the content 27 a by hand.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 14A , when the contents 57 b , 57 c and the content 57 d of the window 56 ′ are included in the range R of the predetermined distance that the measurement-side user 32 can reach by hand, as illustrated in FIG. 14B , the image display unit 164 not only displays the shadow image 40 near the content 27 c corresponding to the content 57 c , but also displays the shadow image 40 near the content 27 d corresponding to the content 57 d . In other words, the image display unit 164 displays the shadow image 40 not only in units of contents but also in units of windows. Note that since the content 27 b corresponding to the content 57 b does not appear in the display screen 25 due to enlargement of the window 26 , the image display unit 164 does not display the shadow image 40 for the content 27 b.

Second Embodiment

Subsequently, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 19 .

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of part of operation of the display-side control unit 162 . FIGS. 16A and 16B are views for explaining an example of aggregation of shadow images 40 . FIGS. 17A to 17C are examples of various weight functions used at a time of aggregation. FIGS. 18A and 18B and FIGS. 19A and 19B are other views for explaining an example of aggregation of the shadow images 40 .

First, as illustrated in FIG. 15 , when processing of step S 209 described with reference to FIG. 8 is completed, the image display unit 164 determines whether a plurality of shadow images 40 are displayed or not (step S 210 ). When a plurality of shadow images 40 are not displayed (NO in step S 210 ), the image display unit 164 skips the subsequent process and ends the process. On the other hand, when a plurality of shadow images 40 are displayed (YES in step S 210 ), the image display unit 164 aggregates shadow images (step S 211 ).

For example, as described with reference to FIGS. 12A and 12B , when a plurality of shadow images 40 are displayed, the image display unit 164 aggregates a plurality of displayed shadow images 40 as illustrated in FIGS. 16A and 16B . Specifically, from screen coordinates (xi, yi) (i=integer of 1 to n) of the plurality of displayed shadow images 40 , the image display unit 164 calculates their center of gravity, and displays one shadow image 40 at a position of the calculated center of gravity.

For example, instead of the center of gravity, the image display unit 164 may calculate a weighted average from the screen coordinates (xi, yi) (i=integer of 1 to n) of the displayed shadow images 40 . For example, the weight of a shadow image 40 that is closer to the measurement-side user 32 or the display-side user 30 is increased. The weight function decreases in inverse proportion to a distance, from the measurement-side user 32 or the display-side user 30 .

d i (0 ≤d i ≤1)=√{square root over ( x i 2 +y i 2 )}

For example, the image display unit 164 may calculate a weighted average using f(d)=a−bd (monotonically decreasing function) as illustrated in FIG. 17A . For example, the image display unit 164 may calculate the weighted average using f(d)=1−1/(1+exp(2d)) (sigmoid function) as illustrated in FIG. 17B . For example, the image display unit 164 may calculate the weighted average using f(d)=1/d (inverse proportional function) as illustrated in FIG. 17C . At this time, the image display unit 164 displays one shadow image 40 at a position of (Σf(d i )x i /n, Σf(d i )y i /n).

Further, when a plurality of shadow images 40 are displayed, as illustrated in FIGS. 18A and 18B , the image display unit 164 may aggregate shadow images 40 at the content 27 a corresponding to the content 57 a that is closest to the measurement-side user 32 among the plurality of displayed shadow images 40 . Moreover, when a plurality of shadow images 40 are displayed, the image display unit 164 may aggregate the shadow images 40 in units of windows as illustrated in FIGS. 19A and 19B . For example, when the contents 57 b , 57 c of the window 56 and the contents 57 d of the window 56 ′ are included in the range R of a predetermined distance that the measurement-side user 32 can reach by hand, a plurality of shadow images 40 displayed on the window 26 may be aggregated into one, and one shadow image 40 displayed in the window 26 ′ does not need to be aggregated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the server apparatus 13 , which allows sharing of the contents 27 a , 27 b , 27 c , 57 a , 57 b , 57 c to be displayed on the respective display screens 25 , 55 of the first content display apparatus 11 and the second content display apparatus 12 , includes the measurement-side control unit 131 and the display-side control unit 132 . When the first content display apparatus 11 displays parts 27 a , 27 c of the contents 27 a , 27 b , 27 c , the measurement-side control unit 131 and the display-side control unit 132 determine whether or not the measurement-side user 32 who operates the second content display apparatus 12 is at a position where it is possible to operate the part 27 c of the contents among the contents 27 a , 27 b , 27 c displayed on the first content display apparatus 11 , and cause the first content display apparatus 11 to display a shadow image 40 indicating that the measurement-side user 32 is present at the position where it is possible to operate the part 27 c of the contents based on a determination result. In this manner, when the contents 27 a , 27 b , 27 c , 57 a , 57 b , 57 c are shared by the first content display apparatus 11 and the second content display apparatus 12 , presence of the measurement-side user 32 at a position where it is possible to operate the content 27 c can be determined.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments according to the present invention, and various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the projector is used as the display device for description. However, a liquid crystal display may be used as the display device instead of the projector. Further, although enlargement has been described as an example, reduction is similar to the case of enlargement.

All examples and conditional language provided herein are intended for the pedagogical purposes of aiding the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to further the art, and are not to be construed as limitations to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although one or more embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.