Camera system for filming golf game and the method for the same

Abstract

A camera system for filming a golf game comprises a camera module for capturing images; a pan-tilt head pivotally connected to the camera module and configured to rotate the camera module horizontally and vertically; a circuit board connected to the camera module and the pan-tilt head and configured to control the camera module and the pan-tilt head; a sensor unit sensing the direction, vertical angle, and horizontal angle of the camera module; and a central processing unit connected to the camera module, the pan-tilt head and the sensor unit. The present invention also provides a method for filming a golf game by using the camera system.

1 . A camera system for filming a golf game, comprising:
 a camera module for capturing images;   a pan-tilt head pivotally connected to the camera module and configured to rotate the camera module horizontally and vertically;   a sensor unit sensing the direction, vertical angle, and horizontal angle of the camera module; and   a central processing unit electrically connected to the camera module, the pan-tilt head and the sensor unit;   wherein the central processing unit is configured to control the camera module, the pan-tilt head and the sensor unit to film the golf ball.   
     
     
         2 . The camera system of  claim 1 , wherein the central processing unit is also configured to determine locations of a golf ball and a golfer. 
     
     
         3 . The camera system of  claim 2 , wherein the central processing unit is also configured to calculate an angle of a direct target line (DTL) according to the locations of the golf ball and the golfer. 
     
     
         4 . The camera system of  claim 1 , wherein the central processing unit is also configured to determine an angle for the camera module to turn to. 
     
     
         5 . The camera system of  claim 1 , wherein the central processing unit is also configured to calculate a golf ball velocity, hitting angle and hitting distance. 
     
     
         6 . The camera system of  claim 1 , wherein the central processing unit is also configured to control the pan-tilt head to pan the camera module to the hitting direction parallel to the angle of the direct target line (DTL). 
     
     
         7 . The camera system of  claim 1 , wherein the central processing unit is also configured to determine a flight range and a flight duration of the golf ball corresponding to the hitting distance. 
     
     
         8 . The camera system of  claim 1 , wherein the central processing unit is also configured to determine whether or not a ball has been successfully hit by the golfer by determining whether or not the ball has passed through a sensitivity zone which is an area between the golfer and a target landing point. 
     
     
         9 . The camera system of  claim 3 , wherein the central processing unit is configured to calculate an angle of a direct target line according to a location of the golf ball and a first point and a second point on the golfer body. 
     
     
         10 . The camera system of  claim 9 , wherein the first point on the golfer body is the left leg of the golfer, the second point on the golfer body is the right leg of the golfer. 
     
     
         11 . The camera system of  claim 1 , wherein the camera module is a single zoom camera. 
     
     
         12 . The camera system of  claim 11 , zoom levels of the single zoom camera are controlled according to the calculated golf ball velocity. 
     
     
         13 . The camera system of  claim 1 , wherein the camera module comprises a first camera and a second camera, the first camera is configured to perform image processing for golfer image; ball velocity; and angle for the second camera to turn, the second camera is configured to take video of golfer's swing and ball landing. 
     
     
         14 . The camera system of  claim 13 , wherein the first camera is a prime lens camera or a fish eye lens camera. 
     
     
         15 . The camera system of  claim 13 , wherein the second camera is a zoom lens camera. 
     
     
         16 . The camera system of  claim 15 , zoom levels of the second zoom camera are controlled according to the calculated golf ball velocity. 
     
     
         17 . The camera system of  claim 1 , wherein the camera module comprises at least three prime lens cameras with different focal lengths configured to cover different flight ranges of the golf ball. 
     
     
         18 . The camera system of  claim 17 , wherein the camera module comprises three prime lens cameras which are a first prime lens camera, a second prime lens camera and a third prime lens camera wherein a flight range of the golf ball covered by the first prime lens camera is 1-100 yards, a flight range of the golf ball covered by the second prime lens camera is 100-200 yards, a flight range of the golf ball covered by the third prime lens camera is more than 200 yards. 
     
     
         19 . The camera system of  claim 18 , wherein the central processing unit is configured to determine the flight range of the golf ball and activate a corresponding camera to capture a video of the ball landing. 
     
     
         20 . The camera system of  claim 1 , further comprising a wireless communication unit arranged on the circuit board and configured to communicate the camera with a portable device. 
     
     
         21 . The camera system of  claim 1 , further comprising a GPS module. 
     
     
         22 . The camera system of  claim 1 , further comprising a circuit board electrically connected to the camera module and the pan-tilt head. 
     
     
         23 . A method for filming a golf game by using the camera system of  claim 1 , comprising the following steps:
 determining locations of a golf ball and a golfer;   calculating an angle of a DTL according to the locations of the golf ball and the golfer;   determining an angle for the camera module to turn to;   calculating a golf ball velocity, hitting angle and hitting distance;   controlling the pan-tilt head to pan the camera module to the hitting direction parallel to the angle of the direct target line;   determining a flight range and a flight duration of the golf ball corresponding to the hitting distance; and   activating the camera module to film the golf ball until the flight duration elapses.   
     
     
         24 . A method to determine a golf ball location, golfer location and generate a direct target line (DTL) comprises following steps:
 determining the location of the ball in the scene by using multi-model image correlation;   determining the location of the golfer by using Background Modeling;   cleaning the model of golfer;   using the golfer model to calculate the distance between two points on the golfer body and to determine middle of the two points;   estimating a value based on a relationship function with the input values;   mapping the output of the relationship function to the DTL angle with a predetermined mapping function.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the multi-model image correlation comprises the following steps:
 building of the ball models comprising the step of capturing image of balls at different scale and lighting conditions m(l,s), wherein l and s is lighting and scale parameter respectively; and   using the correlation function coff(im, m(l,s)), wherein coff is a template matching function, and search for the location with minimum coff with the use of all the ball models.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the Background Modeling comprises the following steps:
 selecting a neighborhood area around the location of the ball after the location of the ball in the image is determined, based on this particular location in the image, wherein the size of the selected area will be subject to the size of the ball in the image;   modeling the selecting area based on a model pixel value of all location under stable condition;   building a first model and a second model based on the temporal filtering, when the image is stable or without any change, the machine records the image model, wherein the first model is the one with background and without the golfer M wg , and the second model is the one with background and with the golfer M g      subtracting the M wg  by M g , and generating the model of golfer.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the relationship function is based on the ratio between the width of the two points on the golfer body and a distance from the ball to the middle of the legs.