IP Library Granted Patent US 12,586,231
Granted Patent B2
US 12,586,231 · App. 18/273,431 · Granted Mar 24, 2026

Posture estimation apparatus, posture estimation method, and computer-readable recording medium

Inventor: Kenta Ishihara (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
G06T7/70A61B5/0077A61B5/1116A61B5/1128G06T7/50G06V10/762G06V40/10A61B2576/00G06T2207/30196G06T2207/30232
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,586,231
App. No.
18/273,431
Granted
Mar 24, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A posture estimation apparatus includes: a position calculation unit that calculates, for each joint of each of persons detected from image data, a provisional reference position of the person, based on a position of the joint and a displacement from the joint to a site serving as a reference for the person; and a posture estimation unit that determines a person to which the joint belongs based on the provisional reference position calculated for each joint detected.

Claims (26)

1 . A posture estimation apparatus comprising:

at least one memory storing instructions; and

at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to:

calculate, for each joint of each of persons detected from image data, a provisional reference position of the person, based on a position of the joint and a displacement from the joint to a site serving as a reference for the person;

determine a person to which the joint belongs based on the provisional reference position calculated for each joint detected; and

in a case where the site serving as a reference for each of the persons is detected from the image data, obtain, for each joint detected, a distance matrix between the provisional reference positions and a position of the site serving as a reference which has been detected, and determine a person to which the joint belongs using the distance matrix obtained.

2 . The posture estimation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to, for each joint of each of the persons, estimate the position of the joint and the displacement for the joint, and calculate the provisional reference position of the person based on the position of the joint and the displacement for the joint which have been estimated.

3 . The posture estimation apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to, using a depth of each joint detected and a parameter of a camera that shot the image data, estimate, for each joint, three-dimensional coordinates indicating a position of the joint and three-dimensional coordinates indicating the displacement for the joint, and calculate three-dimensional coordinates indicating the provisional reference position of the person based on the three-dimensional coordinates indicating the position of the joint and the three-dimensional coordinates indicating the displacement for the joint which have been estimated.

4 . The posture estimation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to estimate, for each of the persons, a posture of the person based on a position of the joint belonging to the person.

5 . The posture estimation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to perform clustering on the provisional reference position of each joint detected, and for each joint detected, determine a person to which the joint belongs based on a result of the clustering.

6 . The posture estimation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the position of the joint and the displacement for the joint are expressed as three-dimensional coordinates.

7 . The posture estimation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to, in a case where a person for which the site serving as a reference has not been detected is present in the image data, perform clustering on the provisional reference position of each joint detected, and for each joint detected, determine a person to which the joint belongs based on a result of the clustering.

8 . A posture estimation method comprising:

calculating, for each joint of each of persons detected from image data, a provisional reference position of the person, based on a position of the joint and a displacement from the joint to a site serving as a reference for the person;

determining a person to which the joint belongs based on the provisional reference position calculated for each joint detected; and

in a case where the site serving as a reference for each of the persons is detected from the image data, in the determining of the person, for each joint detected, a distance matrix between the provisional reference positions and a position of the site serving as a reference which has been detected is obtained, and a person to which the joint belongs is determined using the distance matrix obtained.

9 . The posture estimation method according to claim 8 , wherein in the calculating the provisional reference position, for each joint of each of the persons, the position of the joint and the displacement for the joint is estimated, and the provisional reference position of the person is calculated based on the position of the joint and the displacement for the joint which have been estimated.

10 . The posture estimation method according to claim 9 , wherein using a depth of each joint detected and a parameter of a camera that shot the image data, in the calculating the provisional reference position, three-dimensional coordinates indicating a position of the joint and three-dimensional coordinates indicating the displacement for the joint are estimated for each joint, and three-dimensional coordinates indicating the provisional reference position of the person are calculated based on the three-dimensional coordinates indicating the position of the joint and the three-dimensional coordinates indicating the displacement for the joint which have been estimated.

11 . The posture estimation method according to claim 8 , wherein in the determining the person, for each of the persons, a posture of the person is estimated based on a position of the joint belonging to the person.

12 . The posture estimation method according to claim 8 , wherein in the determining the person, clustering is performed on the provisional reference position of each joint detected, and for each joint detected, a person to which the joint belongs is determined based on a result of the clustering.

13 . The posture estimation method according to claim 8 , wherein the position of the joint and the displacement for the joint are expressed as three-dimensional coordinates.

14 . The posture estimation method according to claim 8 , wherein in a case where a person for which the site serving as a reference has not been detected is present in the image data, in the determining the person, clustering is performed on the provisional reference position of each joint detected, and for each joint detected, a person to which the joint belongs is determined based on a result of the clustering.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that includes a program recorded thereon, the program including instructions that cause a computer to:

calculate, for each joint of each of persons detected from image data, a provisional reference position of the person, based on a position of the joint and a displacement from the joint to a site serving as a reference for the person;

determine a person to which the joint belongs based on the provisional reference position calculated for each joint detected; and

in a case where the site serving as a reference for each of the persons is detected from the image data, in the determining of the person, for each joint detected, a distance matrix between the provisional reference positions and a position of the site serving as a reference which has been detected is obtained, and a person to which the joint belongs is determined using the distance matrix obtained.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 20, 2023
From: ISHIHARA, KENTA
To: NEC CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 064328/0419 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240119620A1 · Apr 11, 2024
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