Method and system for surveillance camera arbitration of uplink consumption

• US 10,347,102 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2016
• Issued: 07/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics LLC (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Burke, Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Beck, Leron
• Application Number:
  US15/076,701
• Publication Number:
  US 20170278368A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,204 Days
• Field of Search: 348143
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19669 Event triggers storage or change of storage policy
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A surveillance camera and image data storage system is disclosed. The system includes surveillance cameras that generate image data. Each of the surveillance cameras calculates a self priority value for uploading the image data and sends its self priority value over a local network to the other surveillance cameras. Within each surveillance camera, a rules engine compares its self priority value and the self priority values from the other surveillance cameras to determine whether to upload the image data over the network to a remote storage system or to save the image data within each surveillance camera. This functions as an arbitration system implemented at the level of the individual cameras to arbitrate uploading of the image data, which limits network bandwidth. In another example, each surveillance camera calculates its self priority value in response to receiving security events from other security devices over a network.

Claims

1. A surveillance camera and image data storage system, comprising:

surveillance cameras generating image data;

a storage system that is remote from the surveillance cameras; and

an arbitration system used by the surveillance cameras to arbitrate uploading the image data by the surveillance cameras to the storage system, the arbitration system including a rules engine for each of the surveillance cameras that calculates a self priority value and determines whether to upload or locally store the image data based on the self priority value and self priority values of the other surveillance cameras;

wherein the surveillance cameras operate in a distributed and self-organized fashion to share bandwidth and limit utilization of the network when uploading the image data to the storage system, wherein each of the surveillance cameras calculates a self priority value for the image data of each of its streams, and includes the self priority value in messages transmitted to the other surveillance cameras, and each of the cameras receives the messages from all of the other cameras and processes the self priority values included within the messages to detect highest priority streams of image data of all of the surveillance cameras and prioritize uploading of its streams of image data in response.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the arbitration system includes a messaging engine for each of the surveillance cameras that shares self priority values of each of the surveillance cameras.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the surveillance cameras include camera analytics systems that analyze the image data from each of the surveillance cameras, and wherein the surveillance cameras calculate the self priority values in response to the analysis of the image data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the surveillance cameras includes a camera image data storage system for locally storing the image data.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the storage system is a cloud storage system.

6. A method for storing image data from surveillance cameras, comprising:

surveillance cameras generating image data;

each of the surveillance cameras calculating a self priority value for uploading the image data;

each of the surveillance cameras exchanging the calculated self priority value with the other surveillance cameras; and

the surveillance cameras arbitrating uploading of the image data to a storage system that is remote from the surveillance cameras by each of the surveillance cameras determining whether to upload or locally store the image data based on its self priority value and self priority values of the other surveillance cameras in which the surveillance cameras operate in a distributed and self-organized fashion to share bandwidth and limit utilization of the network when uploading the image data to the storage system, wherein each of the surveillance cameras calculates a self priority value for the image data of each of its streams, and includes the self priority value in messages transmitted to the other surveillance cameras, and each of the cameras receives the messages from all of the other cameras and processes the self priority values included within the messages to detect highest priority streams of image data of all of the surveillance cameras and prioritize uploading of its streams of image data in response.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the surveillance cameras calculate the self priority value by analyzing image data.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the surveillance cameras calculate the self priority value based on signals from security sensors.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the surveillance cameras store its image data to a camera image data storage system within each of the surveillance cameras based on a comparison of a self priority value of each surveillance camera to self priority values of the other surveillance cameras.

10. A surveillance camera, comprising:

local image data storage;

a network interface for accessing remote image data storage; and

a rules engine for determining whether to store image data generated by the surveillance camera to the local image data storage or to the remote image data storage; and

a messaging engine for sending priority values to and receiving priority values from other surveillance cameras;

wherein the surveillance camera operates in a distributed and self-organized fashion with other surveillance cameras to share bandwidth and limit utilization of the network when uploading the image data to the remote image data storage, wherein each of the surveillance cameras calculates a self priority value for the image data of each of its streams, and includes the self priority value in messages transmitted to the other surveillance cameras, and each of the cameras receives the messages from all of the other cameras and processes the self priority values included within the messages to detect highest priority streams of image data of the surveillance cameras and prioritize uploading of its streams of image data in response.

11. A surveillance camera as claimed in claim 10, further comprising the rules engine determining whether to store the image data generated to the local image data storage or to the remote image data storage in response to priority values from other surveillance cameras.

12. A surveillance camera as claimed in claim 10, wherein the rules engine determines where to store image data in response to a site profile.

13. A surveillance camera as claimed in claim 10, wherein the rules engine determines where to store image data in response to analysis of the image data.

14. An image data storage method for a surveillance camera, comprising:

sending priority values to other surveillance cameras;

receiving priority values from the other surveillance cameras; and

a rules engine within the surveillance camera determining whether to store image data generated by the surveillance camera to local image data storage or to remote image data storage based on the received priority values in which the surveillance camera operates in a distributed and self-organized fashion with other surveillance cameras to share bandwidth and limit utilization of the network when uploading the image data to the remote image data storage, wherein each of the surveillance cameras calculates a self priority value for the image data of each of its streams, and includes the self priority value in messages transmitted to the other surveillance cameras, and each of the cameras receives the messages from all of the other cameras and processes the self priority values included within the messages to detect highest priority streams of image data of the surveillance cameras and prioritize uploading of its streams of image data in response.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising a rules engine determining whether to store the image data generated to the local image data storage or to the remote image data storage in response to priority values from other surveillance cameras.

16. A method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising a rules engine determining whether to store the image data to the local image data storage or to the remote image data storage in response to a site profile.

17. A method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising a rules engine determining whether to store the image data to the local image data storage or to the remote image data storage in response to analysis of the image data.