JP2746251B2 - Experience input device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of measuring motion information such as a load movement and a movement based on the movement of a user's body, and using the measured data and analysis data obtained by analyzing the measured data in some form. The present invention relates to an input device for estimating a moving direction, a moving amount, and an operation (movement) content of a character and a cursor on a display and other objects moving on the display, and outputting the result to an output target.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a so-called bodily sensation input device which inputs a user's posture or motion and moves / operates an object based on the input is used as a general-purpose data glove.
A marker measuring device using a data suit camera is known.

As an example of a conventional data glove, a VP described in an industrial book “Virtual Reality” on pages 75-82 is used.
L Company's Data Glove, Vi
technologies, Inc. cyber gloves. Data gloves are made by reciprocating an optical fiber from the arm of a general glove to the fingertip. The data glove has a structure in which a cut is made at the part that exactly hits the joint of the finger or hand. When the finger joint is moved, the size of the cut in the joint changes, and accordingly, the amount of light transmitted through the optical fiber changes. By measuring the amount of light, changes in each joint can be quantitatively measured. Cyber gloves quantitatively measure the amount of change in the joints of the hands by attaching a strain sensor to the joints. Each of these is used for moving a virtual hand or grasping an object in a computer using the measured joint change amount of the hand.

[0004] As an example of the data suit, there is a data suit (Data Suite) of VPL Company described on page 79 of an industrial book "Virtual Reality". This is a clothing in which the above-mentioned data glove is extended to the whole body, and is in close contact with the whole body along an optical fiber so that the amount of change in the joints of the body can be measured. When the user wears this clothes and works,
The device measures the amount of change in each joint of the body, and can operate a virtual person in the computer in accordance with the change.

An example of marker measurement using a camera is described in JP-A-07-185131. This apparatus includes an imaging unit that images a marker attached to a player's body, a marker position detection unit that detects the position of a marker from the captured image of the player, and a corresponding game character based on the position information of each marker. Calculating means for calculating a display position and a display attitude on a display screen of the same, an object image storing means for storing object images of a plurality of display attitudes for each game character, and a game character corresponding to the calculated display attitude Is constituted by display control means for displaying the posture of the image at the calculated display position.

The measurer Q attaches markers as shown at q1 to q7 as shown in FIG. 3 of this document, and photographs the person Q using the cameras 31 and 31 'as shown in FIG. 1 of this document. Only the markers are extracted from the two captured images in the image processing device 33, and the three-dimensional coordinates of each marker are measured. In the system driving device 6, the three-dimensional coordinates of each marker are associated with the position of each joint of the measurer Q, and the display attitude of the game character is determined from the relative position of each marker, and the game character's display attitude is determined from the absolute coordinates of each marker. Calculate the display position. Further, an object image of the game character corresponding to the calculated display posture is read, and
It is displayed at the above calculated display position. In this way, a game input device having a more realistic feeling than a conventional key input device is realized.

[0007]

The above devices are operation interfaces which can reflect the actual operation of the user on a computer based on input data.
The technique of interpreting the user's movement is undeveloped. For example,
With data glove input, you can move virtual hands and fingers in the computer, but you can operate objects in virtual space, such as grasping and releasing objects, winding screws, twisting something, etc. It is difficult to reflect the motion in the computer by distinguishing the motion from other motions from the motions of the hands and the body, and so far, except for the simple ones, has not been performed.

This is because, when such a device is used,
This is because a process in which only template matching is performed on the input information is generally performed, and it is not possible to interpret the user's fine and quick movement. This is because template matching requires coarser templates due to problems with the accuracy of input sensors and image processing and robustness to user movements, so that only large and characteristic movements can be identified. is there.

At present, due to such a problem, general-purpose interfaces using this operation are generally input by gesture. As a result, even when the user wants to perform a small operation in the virtual space, the user must perform a large operation so that it can be distinguished from other operations, or need an operation that is significantly different from the actual operation. A problem arises in that an operation with a feeling cannot be performed, and the operation itself takes a long time to move, resulting in poor responsiveness.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a bodily sensation input device that allows a user to perform input as close as possible to general human movements and realizes quick and detailed operation. I do.

[0011]

The sensation input device according to the present invention is an input device for measuring a motion state of a user, estimating an operation intention based on measurement data, and outputting an operation signal to an information processing device. It has an operating unit that allows the user to perform an exercise of swinging the foot left and right, a measuring unit that measures the swing angle of the left and right foot, and time-series data of the swing angle of the foot.
An analysis unit that analyzes at least the angular velocity of the swing angle of the foot from the time series data of the foot, an estimation condition holding unit that holds operation intention estimation conditions corresponding to the motion of the user, and the measurement unit measures
The swing angle of the left and right feet and the foot
An operation estimating unit for estimating the intention of the user to move left and right by referring to the operation intention estimating condition and the operation estimating method determining condition of the estimation condition discriminating unit at least as an input of the angular velocity of the swing angle; An operation signal generation condition holding unit that holds operation signal information that can be input to, an operation intention information generated in the operation estimating unit is input, and by referring to the operation signal information of the operation signal generation condition holding unit, an output target The information processing apparatus includes an operation signal generation unit that generates an operation signal.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the first embodiment.

The operation unit 1 is a device that allows a user to use the operation unit to perform an actual operation. Various sensors are attached to the operation unit 1 so that the characteristics of the user's movement can be detected.
0 can be generated.

The measuring section 2 is a section that converts the sensor output 100 into a physical quantity such as a load, a moving amount, and magnetism that can be easily understood by a human, and outputs the measured data 200 and 210.

The analysis unit 3 converts the measured data 200 into a temporal and
This part performs spatial analysis. Of the measurement data 200, those for which a temporal analysis is performed are sent to the measurement data memory 6 and stored. The analysis unit 3 sends measurement data to the measurement data memory 6 when performing a temporal analysis,
The differential value is calculated based on the difference with reference to the past data. In the case of performing spatial analysis, a plurality of measurement data are combined to generate new data.

The operation estimating unit 4 is a part for estimating each operation content based on analysis data and measurement data, and outputting operation information 400 describing the operation content. The operation content described here refers to each command such as a game such as “go up” and “go right”. The operation information 400 is a set of operation content indicating variables in which “execute” or “do not execute” of each operation content is described by (1/0). The operation estimating unit 4 has a plurality of operation content estimation modules for estimating the execution of the operation content for each operation content, and the operation content estimation module determination data 700
, An operation content estimation module is selected for each operation content. The operation content estimation module determination data 700 is input from the estimation condition holding unit 7. In addition, the operation content estimating module can input data such as a threshold used at the time of estimation from the outside. These data are the operation intention estimation condition data 71.
0 is similarly input from the estimation condition holding unit 710.

The operation signal generator 5 receives the operation information 400 and outputs an output signal to a terminal of a device actually operated (specifically, a terminal such as a game machine that outputs a button signal). 500 is output. Specifically, the operation signal generation unit 5 associates the operation content instruction variable of each operation content with each terminal, and when the operation content is “executed”, the signal of the corresponding terminal is set to be on. You. Since the correspondence between the operation content indicating variable and the terminal of each operation device differs depending on the device, the association can be freely set using the operation signal generation condition data 800. The operation signal generation condition data 800 is described in the operation signal generation condition holding unit 8 and is referred to during the operation.

The operation estimating unit 4 and the operation signal generating unit 5 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows an operation estimation unit 4 and operation estimation module determination data 700,
FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing details of operation intention estimation condition determination data 710 and operation information 400.

The operation estimating section 4 has a plurality of operation content estimating modules for estimating the operation content for each operation content. The operation described here is "go up"
Refers to each command of a game such as "go right".
In the figure, a plurality of operation contents are represented by operation contents 1..operation contents n. Each operation content has m1, m2,... Mn operation content estimation modules, and mk estimation modules of operation content k (k = 1... . . It is described as an operation content k estimation module mk, and represents a plurality of operation content estimation modules in each operation content.

In the estimation, first, an estimation module is selected for each operation content. At this time, the operation estimation module determination data 700 is used. The operation estimation module determination data 700 indicates the module numbers a1, a2,. . . It is described as an. The operation estimating unit 4 refers to this value,
For the operation content 1, the operation content 1 estimation module a1
For the operation content 2, the operation content 2 estimation module a
2. Select a module for each operation in the form of ..

Next, the selected operation content estimating module will be described. The selected operation content estimating module is a module having a function format for inputting data such as a threshold value used for estimation, the measurement data 250, and the analysis data 300, and outputting operation content indicating variables. Here, the operation content 1 estimation module a1 is set to f1
(X1, y1, z1,...),. . . The operation content estimating module an is expressed in the form of fn (xn, yn, zn,...). Each module is x1, y1, z
1,. . . Has an argument like This is data such as a threshold used for estimation. This value is described in the operation intention estimation condition setting data 710, and at the time of estimation,
It is referred from the operation intention estimation condition setting data 710. Further, the measurement data 250 and the analysis data 300 are global variables, and are set so as to refer to the global variables in the function. The output of this function is a binary value (1/0) representing "execute" or "do not execute", and that value is later substituted into the operation content indicating variable. In this figure, the operation content indicating variables are p1,. . It is expressed as pn. Also,
p1,. . pn and f1 (),. . . The relationship of fn () is p
1 = f1 (),. . . pn = fn ().

Next, the operation signal generator 5 will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the operation signal generation unit 5 and the operation signal generation data 800.

The operation signal generating unit 5 has a connection unit which can be connected to the information processing apparatus to be operated in some form or is designed to be able to communicate. The operation signal generator 5 has a plurality of operation signal generation modules as shown in FIG. This operation signal generation module is a module that associates operation content instruction variables of each operation content with each terminal of an operation device such as a game machine, and is a module determined to be able to generate an output signal according to various transmission targets. There is one for each operating device. In the figure, a case where n operation devices can be operated is assumed, and a case where n operation signal generation modules are provided in the operation signal generation unit is expressed. Each of the operation signal generation modules includes an operation signal generation module 1. . . The operation signal generation module was expressed as n. At the time of actual operation, the operation module is selected by referring to the operation signal condition generation data 600. In the figure, the operation signal condition occurrence data 6
Since 00 is i, the operation signal generation module i is selected as the operation signal generation module.

In the operation signal generation module, (on / off) of each terminal of the operation device is set to (1 /
The corresponding one operation content designating variable or the logical sum / logical product of a plurality of operation content designating variables is substituted for the output content designating variable described in (0). Specifically, the case of the operation signal generation module 1 will be described.

Now, it is assumed that the operation content designating variable indicates the following operation content status. p1: go to the left p2: go to the right p3: step on the left foot p4: step on the right foot p5: tilt the body forward p6: jump Also, assume that the output content indicating variable points to the following terminal. a1: “←” key b1: “A” key c1: “X” key At this time, “when going left, output a signal to the terminal corresponding to the“ ← ”key.” “Tilt the body forward or jump if you did this,
"Output a signal to the terminal corresponding to the" X "key.""When going to the right and further stepping on the right foot, or when going to the left and stepping on the left foot, output a signal to the terminal corresponding to the" A "key. The operation signal generating module 1 performs this. In this way, a signal is output to the terminal of the corresponding device in response to one or more operation contents performed in the operation signal generation module.

In this example, since the operation signal generation module i is selected, the output content indicating variables ai, b
i,. . Output a signal to the terminal corresponding to.

Next, a flow of a series of processes will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

First, after the program is started, data that is the basis of control of the operation estimation condition holding unit 7 and the operation signal generation condition holding unit 8 is read. Further, parameters that can be calibrated, such as the weight of the user, are calibrated (step A01).

Next, actual control is started (step A).
02).

After activation, the user uses the operation unit 1 to perform some operation. The sensor output 100 is continuously generated from the operation unit 1 by a certain characteristic operation of the user. The measurement unit 2 converts the sensor output 10 into measurement data 20 and 21 which are physical quantities such as a load, a movement amount, and magnetism that are easy for humans to understand (step A03).

Since the measurement section 2 simply converts the sensor output 100 into a physical quantity, the measurement data 200 is sent to the analysis section 3 when its analysis is necessary. The measurement data 250 used for the direct operation determination is sent to the direct operation estimating unit 4 (step A04).

The analysis unit 3 performs a temporal analysis and a spatial analysis on the measurement data 200. Measurement data 200
Among them, those that perform a temporal analysis refer to the time-series data in the measurement data memory 6 and perform a difference process and the like. The spatial processing is performed by comparing or synthesizing with measurement data from another sensor (step A05).

Next, the operation estimating section 4 estimates each operation as described above (step A06).

Next, an actual operation signal is output by the operation signal generator 5 (step A07).

Thereafter, the termination status is read, and if the termination is confirmed, the program is terminated. If the termination is not confirmed, the sensor output is measured again (step A08). The end status may be any of a key input from the outside, the number of loops and the start time, or an end read from the information processing device to be output.

There are two types of modifications of the first embodiment of the present invention.

One is that the output value to the operation content indicating variable of the operation estimation module of FIG. 2 is set to an analog value from -1 to 1, and further an integration process is performed. The operation content indicating variables that have undergone such processing are compared with a threshold value.

The other is to make the output value to the output content indicating variable of the operation signal generation module of FIG. 3 an analog value from -1 to 1, and further perform an integration process. The output content indicating variables that have undergone such processing are compared with a threshold.

Next, the effects of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. The first embodiment of the present invention is to construct a user interface that reflects the intentions of many unconventional users by adding temporal and spatial interpretations such as the position, posture, and motion of the user. Becomes possible. Further, for the above-mentioned reason, it is possible to construct an interface having better responsiveness than before. Further, by changing the operation intention estimation condition data 710 of the estimation condition holding unit 7, various users can operate in the form that is most easy to operate. Further, the estimation condition holding unit 7
Operation content estimation module determination data 700 and operation signal generation condition data 800 of the operation signal generation condition holding unit 8
Can be used as a sensation input device corresponding to various information processing devices.

Further, the modification of the first embodiment of the present invention has an effect that an operation can be performed in consideration of a delicate operation of a user, which cannot be realized in the conventional example.

[0042]

Next, an embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 shows a first example of the first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, each of the portions on which both feet are placed as shown in FIG.
Each of the pressure sensors is attached, and the user operates the cursor on the screen by moving the body.
The amplifier 1001 amplifies the signal of the load sensor, and
02 analyzes the obtained data of the load sensor, estimates the movement of the cursor or the event operation (which corresponds to a click with a mouse), and generates an output signal. The output terminal 1003 is a device that connects the PC 1002 and the information processing device 1004. The information processing device 1004 is a device for actually operating a cursor, and indicates a PC or the like here. The image of the information processing device 1004 is projected on a screen 1006 through an LCD projector 1005. FIG. 5B shows sensors attached to each foot of the operator. Sensors 1501 to 1503 are left foot sensors,
The sensors 1504 to 1506 are sensors for the right foot, and the forward direction in the y direction of each foot is the forward direction of the user's body. In the figure, the origin on the coordinate axis is determined for convenience as the midpoint of the center of the portion on which each foot is placed. However, calibration is performed before the operation, so that the origin may be anywhere. X of the sensors 1501, 1502, 1503 in FIG.
The coordinates are Xl1, Xl2, Xl3, the Y coordinates are Yl1, Yl2, Yl3, and the loads on the sensor are Wl1, Wl2, Wl3, respectively.
Xr1 and Xr are the X coordinates of the sensor 5 · 1506, respectively.
2, Xr3, and Y coordinates are Yr1, Yr2, and Yr, respectively.
3. The load applied to the sensor is Wr1, Wr2, W
r3. The shape of the operation unit 1 and the contents of the measurement data of the measurement unit 2 in FIG. 1 are performed as described above, and the processing of the analysis unit 3, the operation estimation unit 4, and the operation signal generation unit 5 will be described below.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the analysis unit 3 of the present embodiment.

The differentiating section 30 receives the load of each of the sensors 1501 to 1506 shown in FIG.
2, difference processing is performed on Wl3, Wr1, Wr2, and Wr3, and the value of the time derivative is calculated. First, when each measurement data is input, past measurement data--oW11, oW12, oW13, oWr1, and oWr are read from the measurement data memory 6 in the past.
2. Read out oWr3, take the difference, and obtain the difference value d
Wl1, dWl2, dWl3, dWr1, dWr2, d
Wr3 is output. After output, oW of measurement data memory 6
l1, oWl2, oWl3, oWr1, oWr2, oW
r3 is Wl1, Wl2, Wl3, Wr1, Wr2, Wr
Rewrite to 3.

The center-of-gravity position analyzing unit 31a outputs the center-of-gravity position when each load data is input, and outputs the time-dependent change of the center-of-gravity position when the time change of each load data is input. From the load data, the coordinates (Xwl, Ywl) of the center of gravity of the left foot,
The coordinates (Xwr, Ywr) of the center of gravity of the right foot can be calculated using the following equation. Xwl = (W11 * X11 + W12 * X12 + W13 *)
X13) / (W11 + W12 + W13) Ywl = (W11 * Y11 + W12 * Y12 + W13 *)
Yr3) / (W11 + W12 + W13) Xwr = (Wr1 * Xr1 + Wr2 * Xr2 + Wr3 *)
Xr3) / (Wr1 + Wr2 + Wr3) Ywr = (Wr1 * Yr1 + Wr2 * Yr2 + Wr3 *)
Yr3) / (Wr1 + Wr2 + Wr3) The time change of the center of gravity of the left foot (dXwl, dYwl) and the time change of the center of gravity of the right foot (dXwr, dYwr) can be similarly obtained from the time change of the load data.

The left foot analysis unit 31b and the right foot analysis unit 31c output the left foot load Wl and the right foot load Wr, respectively, when the load of each sensor is input. When the time change of the load of each sensor is input, the left foot load, respectively. Time change dWl,
The right foot load time change dWr can be calculated.

The total weight analyzer 31d calculates the total weight Wt from the sum of the load data.

(Xwl, Yw)
l), (Xwr, Ywr), (dXwl, dYwl),
(DXwr, dYwr), Wl, dWl, Wr, dW
r and Wt are sent to the operation estimating unit 4 as analysis data 300.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the operation estimating unit 4 of this embodiment. The operation content estimation module in the operation estimation unit 4 has been selected in advance by the operation content estimation module determination data 700 in the estimation condition holding unit 6. The selected module is as shown in FIG.

The left / right movement estimation module 40a receives the x-coordinate and the x-coordinate time change of the center of gravity of each foot, and the up-and-down movement estimation module 40b takes the y-coordinate and y-coordinate time change of the center of gravity of each foot as inputs. The moving state in the horizontal direction and the moving state in the vertical direction are output. Since the method of estimating the moving state is the same, the estimation in the left-right direction will be described as an example.

FIG. 8 is a diagram clearly showing the criterion for judging the movement in the left / right movement estimation module 40a.
Xwl + Xwr in FIG. 10 is the sum of the x-coordinates of the center of gravity of each foot, and dXwl + dXwr is the sum of the changes over time of the x-coordinate of the center of gravity of each foot. X_thre1, x_t in graph
Although hre2, dx_thre1, and dx_thre2 are thresholds used as references for region identification, they are externally input as operation intention estimation condition data 710 of the operation estimation condition holding unit 7. In estimating the operation intention, movement is determined based on the five regions I to V in FIG. In the regions I, II, III, IV, and V, it is estimated that x moves in the positive direction, x moves in the positive direction, x moves in the negative direction, x moves in the negative direction, and no movement occurs. Is done.

Next, the remaining estimating module of the operation estimating unit 4, the left foot step estimating module 40c, the right foot step estimating module 40d, and the jump estimating module 40e will be described. The left foot step estimation module 40c and the right foot step estimation module 40d in FIG. 7 both receive the load of each foot and the time change of the load of each foot as inputs, and output the step state of the left foot and the step state of the right foot, respectively. Since the estimation is performed using the same method for the left foot step estimation module 40c and the right foot step estimation module 40d, the step estimation of the left foot will be described as an example.

Assuming that the weight of the user at rest is mass and the thresholds are mass_thre1 and mass_thre2, the stepping state of the left foot is as follows: Wl−Wr> mass * mass_thre1 It is determined that there is no stepping.

The mass here is the total weight when the user stands upright, which is measured before the control is started. mass_thre1, m
ass_thre2 is input from the estimation condition holding unit 6 as a part of the operation intention estimation condition data 710.

The jump estimation module 40e calculates the total weight W
When t falls below a certain value, it is determined that a jump has occurred. This threshold is also input from the estimation condition holding unit 6 as a part of the operation intention estimation condition data 710.

Next, the operation contents estimated by the operation estimating module are output to the operation content indicating variables. As operation instruction variables, seven variables as shown in FIG. 9 --- move
_Left, move_right, move_up,
move_down, push_left, push_
right, jump-- are prepared. These variables correspond to leftward movement, rightward movement, upward movement, downward movement, stepping on the left foot, stepping on the right foot, and jumping, respectively. For each variable, 1 is substituted when it is estimated that the corresponding operation is performed, and 0 is substituted when it is estimated that the corresponding operation is not performed. These operation content indicating variables are output to the operation signal generator 5 as operation information 400.

Next, the processing in the operation signal generator 5 will be described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the operation signal generator 5 of the present embodiment. The operation signal generation module in the operation signal generation unit 5 is selected in advance by the operation signal generation condition data 800 in the operation signal generation condition holding unit 7. It is assumed that the selected module is 50x in FIG.

A. Within the operation signal generation module . . The data of g is an output content indicating variable. In this embodiment, each variable corresponds to the following mouse operation. a ... Move the mouse to the left b ... Move the mouse to the right c ... Move the mouse up d ... Move the mouse down e ... Click the left mouse button f ... -Click the right mouse button g ... Click the middle mouse button (if any) In the operation signal generation module 50x, the values of the corresponding operation content indicating variables are substituted for these output content designating variables. . Next, the output signal generation unit 51 generates an output signal to the corresponding terminal based on the value of the output content indicating variable.

According to the invention of this embodiment, a load sensor which can only be used for a single input such as a center of gravity position measurement or a pressure-sensitive pad can be used as an input device capable of a plurality of inputs.

The operation of the second example of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a second example of the first embodiment of the present invention. The operation unit 1 in this embodiment corresponds to the platform 1101 in FIG. On the platform 1101, the user can perform an operation of moving the body left and right like skiing, an operation of tilting the heel of each foot downward from the horizontal direction, and an operation of pressing various keys. Fig. 5 (B) shows the part where the user's foot is placed.
Similarly to the above, three load sensors are attached to each foot so that the load state of each foot can be measured. Further, each handle is provided with a key pad as shown in FIG. The screen 1106 is in front of the user.
, The user is an information processing device 1 such as a game machine.
The operation can be performed while watching the video output from the display 104 (for example, a game screen for a game).

The platform 1101 has a spindle angle measuring encoder 1601, a heel angle measuring encoder 1602, a load sensor 1603, and a key pad 1604.
Main shaft angle θo, left heel angle φl, right heel angle φr, each load Wl1,
Wl2, Wl3, Wr1, Wr2, Wr3 (correspondence between sensor and load is the same as in the first embodiment), PLl (FIG. 1)
6 (C) key "L1" was pressed), PL2 (FIG. 16)
(C) key "L2" is pressed), PR1 (FIG. 16)
(C) key "R1" is pressed), PR2 (FIG. 16)
(C) key “R2” is pressed). The operation estimation device 1102 performs all processes from the measurement unit 2 to the operation signal generation unit 5, estimates the user's operation intention based on the input from each of the above-described sensors, and sends the information to the information processing device 1104. Determine the output content. Output terminal 11
A device 03 converts the output content to the information processing device 1104 into an output corresponding to each information processing device, and corresponds to a hardware connection unit.

Next, a series of processes from the analysis unit 3 to the operation signal generation unit 5 will be described step by step. First, the processing of the analysis unit 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The measurement data 200 in FIG. 11 includes the principal axis angle θo, the left heel angle φ1, the right heel angle φr, and the respective loads W11, W12, W13, Wr1, Wr2, Wr3.
Hit. Among them, the measurement data 201 to be differentiated includes the principal axis angle θo, the loads Wl1, Wl2, Wl3, Wr1,
Wr2 and Wr3. In the differentiator 30, the data is differentiated by using a difference process. Specifically, from the measurement data memory 6, the past principal axis angle oθo / each load oWl
1, oWl2, oWl3, oWr1, oWr2, oWr
3, dθ which is the differential data 203 is obtained.
o, dWl1, dWl2, dWl3, dWr1, dWr
2. After creating and outputting dWr3, the old data of the main axis angle and each load in the measurement data memory is converted into the main axis angle θo, which is the measurement data 201, and each load W11, W12, W13, Wr.
Rewrite to 1, Wr2, Wr3.

The footrest analyzing section 32a inputs the principal axis angle θo, the left heel angle φ1, the right heel angle φr as the measurement data 204, and dθo as the differential data 209, and outputs the same data as the footrest data 33a. The center-of-gravity position analyzing unit 32b calculates Wl1, Wl2, Wl3, Wr1,
Using Wr2 and Wr3 as differential data 210, dWl1,
dWl2, dWl3, dWr1, dWr2, dWr3 are input, and the center of gravity position (Xwl, Ywl), (Xwr, Yw
r) and the time change of the position of the center of gravity (dXwl, dYwl),
It is output as barycentric position data 33b including (dXwr, dYwr). In the left foot analysis unit 32c, the measurement data 20
Wl1, Wl2, Wl3, Wr1, Wr2, W
r3 is defined as dWl1, dWl2,
dWl3, dWr1, dWr2, and dWr3 are input, and the left foot load Wl and the time change dWl of the left foot load are output as the left foot data 33c. In the right foot analysis unit 32d,
Wl1, Wl2, Wl3, Wr as measurement data 207
1, Wr2 and Wr3 are represented by dWl as differential data 212.
1, dWl2, dWl3, dWr1, dWr2, dWr
3 as the right foot data 33d, the right foot load Wr,
The time change dWr of the right foot load is output. Total weight analysis unit 3
2e, Wl1, Wl2, W
13, Wr 1, Wr 2, and Wr 3 are input, and the overall weight Wt is output as the overall weight data 305. The contents of these processes are the same as in the first embodiment, and will not be described. Each of the data 301 to 305 is output to the operation estimation unit 4 as the analysis data 300.

Next, the processing of the operation estimating unit 4 will be described. Each module selected in the operation estimating unit 4 is as shown in FIG. Among them, the vertical movement estimation module 40b, the left foot step estimation module 40c, the right foot step estimation module 40
d, the jump estimating module 40e is the same as that described in the example of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The estimation principle of the left / right estimation module 40a will be described with reference to FIG. This method is an application of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, in which the main shaft angle θo and the time change d of the main shaft angle are shown.
Based on θo, the movement state is determined by referring to the posture parameters left foot load Wl, right foot load Wr, left heel angle φl, and right heel angle φr for each of the seven cases. In addition,
Ar_thre1,. . ar_thre4, av
_Thre1, av_thre2, mass_thre
1 and mass_thre2 are thresholds, which are externally input as operation intention estimation condition data 710 in FIG. ma
ss is measured before operation by the weight of the user in a stationary state.

In the case of II, V, and VII, there is unconditionally rightward movement (turn left), leftward movement (right turn), and no movement (or straight ahead). In the case of III, Wr> mass_thre
When it is 1 * mass, the movement is to the right (turn left), and in other cases, there is no movement. In the case of VI, the reverse estimation is performed. In the case of I, Wr> mass_thre2 * mas
When s, φr> ar_thre4, large right movement (large left turn) is performed, and otherwise, normal right movement (left turn). IV
In the case of, the reverse estimation is performed.

Next, the remaining motion estimation module of FIG. 12 will be described. The process of the squatting motion estimation module 40f determines that the “squatting” motion is executed when both Ywl + Ywr and dYwl + dYwr fall below a certain threshold. This threshold is also input from the outside as operation intention estimation condition data 600. Finally, the key operation estimating module 40g outputs the measurement data 250 as it is.

The motion estimation module (40a-40)
The value estimated in g) is output at the operation instruction variable output 41b. The output of the operation instruction variable is as shown in FIG. Here, other operation content indicating variables not described in the first embodiment will be described. First, dir
[] Is an operation content indicating variable indicating a moving state to the left and right, and dir [0] is a large left movement (a large right turn) and a dir.
[1] moves left (turn right), dir [2] goes straight or does not move, dir [3] moves right (large left turn), di
r [4] represents a large right movement (a large left turn). Also, sud
den_down is 1 when the squatting motion is estimated
And 0 otherwise. Also, the array sw_s
state [] indicates the output state of each key (s
w_state [0]. . 1 of sw_state [3]
/ 0 is on / o of each key of L1, L2, R1, R2 in order
ff).

Next, the processing of the operation signal generator 5 will be described.
The operation signal generation module 50y in FIG. 14 is a selected module different from the first embodiment selected in the operation signal generation unit. The output content indicating variables correspond to the following buttons of the game machine. a: “←” key b: “→” key c: “↑” key d: “↓” key e: “B” key f: “Y” key Here, taking the first formula as an example, a: = Dir [0] or dir [1] or sw
_State [0] is "Large left movement, left movement, or L
This means that when one key is pressed, a signal is output to the terminal of the “←” key. The following equation can be interpreted similarly.

Next, a signal matched to the information processing device 1004 is output by the output signal generator 51 in accordance with the size of the output content indicating variable. In the subsequent processing, an operation signal is output as in the example of the previous embodiment.

According to the invention of the present embodiment, it has been possible to improve the response delay of the switching of the movement, which has been a problem in the interface requiring the conventional movement. This is because a reflexive response of a human could be captured in the user interface by estimating the magnitude and movement of the movement from the posture and the like of the user.

[0072]

A first effect of using the sensation input device of the present invention is that a detailed operation of the operation target of the display device can be quickly controlled, so that a control interface having a sense of presence and good operability is provided. It can be achieved.

The reason is that based on physical data which can be detected from the movement of the entire body of the user, the amount of change of the physical data per unit time, comparison with other physical data, and synthesized data, Since the intention of the operation is interpreted and controlled, various operations can be interpreted in the computer, and the response of the human being can be detected by posture detection or the like and incorporated into the operation, so that the responsiveness is higher than before. This is because a sensation input device can be realized.

The second effect is that one sensation input device can support various output information processing devices. Conventionally, such a sensation input device is one such as a game device.
In many cases, it is effective for only one operation elephant, and there is no general sensation input device. The present invention is very effective in that an interface that is easy to use can be realized only by preliminarily holding user data or by performing preprocessing for calibration.

The effect is a function of selecting an optimum one from various estimation methods when estimating the operation content, a function of inputting data in which individual differences are found in the estimation method, and an output. If a function that can set an output location by inputting data from outside at a signal generating portion is used, it can be realized by setting easily with software.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a first embodiment of a sensation input device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of an operation estimation unit 4 of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of an operation signal generator 5 of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a conceptual configuration diagram of a first example of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention. (B) is a layout view of a load sensor at the foot of the user in the first example of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a process performed by the analysis unit 3 of the first example of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a process of the operation estimating unit 4 of the first example of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an identification method used in the processing of the left / right movement estimation module 40a of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a process of the operation signal generation unit 5 of the first example of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention.

FIG. 10A is a conceptual configuration diagram of a second example of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention. (B) is an arrangement view of a load sensor at the foot of the user of the second example of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention. (C) is a key layout diagram of a keypad of the second example of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows a second example of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention.
It is a block diagram of a process of the analysis part 3 of an Example.

FIG. 12 shows a second example of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention.
It is a block diagram showing processing of operation estimating part 4 of an example.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an identification method used in the processing of the left / right movement estimation module 40a of FIG.

FIG. 14 shows a second example of the first embodiment of the sensation input device of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process of an operation signal generation unit 5 according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 operation unit 2 measurement unit 3 analysis unit 4 operation estimation unit 5 operation signal generation unit 6 measurement data memory 7 estimation condition storage unit 8 operation signal generation condition storage unit 100 operation unit sensor output 200 measurement data 300 analysis data 400 operation information 500 output 700 Operation content estimation module decision data 710 Operation intention estimation condition data 800 Operation signal generation condition data

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An input device for measuring a motion state of a user, estimating an operation intention based on measured data, and outputting an operation signal to an information processing device, wherein the user performs a motion of swinging a foot left and right. And a measuring unit for measuring the swing angles of the left and right feet, and time series data of the swing angles of the feet.
An analyzing unit that analyzes at least the angular velocity of the foot swing angle from the data, an estimation condition holding unit that holds operation intention estimation conditions corresponding to the motion of the user, and a swing angle of the left and right feet measured by the measurement unit. By inputting at least the angular velocity of the swing angle of the foot generated in the analysis unit and referring to the operation intention estimation condition and the operation estimation method determination condition of the estimation condition determination unit, the user's right and left
An operation estimating unit for estimating the intention to move to the information processing device; an operation signal generation condition holding unit for holding operation signal information that can be input to the information processing apparatus; An sensation input device comprising: an operation signal generation unit that generates an operation signal in an information processing device to be output by referring to operation signal information of a condition holding unit. 2. The measuring section measures load information at three or more points on the back side of each of the user's feet, and the analyzing section calculates the position of the center of gravity of the user and the time change of the position of the center of gravity from the measured data. It was calculated, the operation estimation unit, sensory input device according to claim 1, characterized in that for estimating the movement direction or position information. 3. The analysis unit further calculates a load of each foot and a load change per unit time of each foot from the measured data, and the operation estimating unit estimates a motion determination. The sensation input device according to claim 1 . 4. The movement section can tilt the heel of each foot downward from the heel of each foot in a horizontal direction when the user swings his / her feet like skiing. It is possible to measure the angle of inclination from the lower horizontal direction, the operation estimating unit, the angle of inclination from the measured horizontal swing angle of each foot from the heel of each foot, the foot of the foot analyzed The sensation input device according to claim 1 , wherein the left and right moving directions and the magnitude of the movement are determined based on the angular velocity of the swing angle and the load on each foot.