Image recognition device, image recognition method, program, and integrated circuit

An image recognition method, comprising:

• a first recognition step of performing image recognition within an image to find a first object;
• an obtaining step of obtaining an attribute of the first object found in the first recognition step;
• an object specifying step of referring to object correspondence information showing identifiers of second objects and associating each identifier with an attribute, and specifying an identifier of one of the second objects that is associated with the attribute of the first object;
• an area specifying step of referring to area value information showing values that are associated with the identifiers of the second objects and are related to a first area occupied by the first object, and specifying a second area within the image by using a value associated with the identifier of the one of the second objects;
• and
• a second recognition step of performing image recognition within the second area to find the one of the second objects.

A computer program for causing a computer to perform image recognition processing, the image recognition processing comprising:

• a first recognition step of performing image recognition within an image to find a first object;
• an obtaining step of obtaining an attribute of the first object found in the first recognition step;
• an object specifying step of referring to object correspondence information showing identifiers of second objects and associating each identifier with an attribute, and specifying an identifier of one of the second objects that is associated with the attribute of the first object;
• an area specifying step of referring to area value information showing values that are associated with the identifiers of the second objects and are related to a first area occupied by the first object, and specifying a second area within the image by using a value associated with the identifier of the one of the second objects;
• and
• a second recognition step of performing image recognition within the second area to find the one of the second objects.

An integrated circuit comprising:

• a first recognition unit that performs image recognition within an image to find a first object;
• an obtaining unit that obtains an attribute of the first object found by the first recognition unit;
• an object specifying unit that refers to object correspondence information showing identifiers of second objects and associating each identifier with an attribute, and specifies an identifier of one of the second objects that is associated with the attribute of the first object;
• an area specifying unit that refers to area value information showing values that are associated with the identifiers of the second objects and are related to a first area occupied by the first object, and specifies a second area within the image by using a value associated with the identifier of the one of the second objects;
• and
• a second recognition unit that performs image recognition within the second area to find the one of the second objects.