Aerial imaging privacy enhancement system

• US 10,440,229 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2017
• Issued: 10/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eagle Eye Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Eagle Eye Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Drako, Dean
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Kim Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Delaney, Molly
• Application Number:
  US15/814,356
• Publication Number:
  US 20190149696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 692 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10032 Satellite or aerial image; Remote sensing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30232 Surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/13 Edge detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/292 Multi-camera tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/28 Quantising the image, e.g. histogram thresholding for discrimination between background and foreground patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/44 Local feature extraction by analysis of parts of the pattern, e.g. by detecting edges, contours, loops, corners, strokes or intersections; Connectivity analysis, e.g. of connected components
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19602 Image analysis to detect motion of the intruder, e.g. by frame subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1965 the vehicle being an aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19686 Interfaces masking personal details for privacy, e.g. blurring faces, vehicle license plates
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/188 Data fusion; cooperative systems, e.g. voting among different detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/448 Rendering the image unintelligible, e.g. scrambling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control

Abstract

A camera-based security system protects an asset by detecting an aerial surveillor and consequently storing notifications into a video archive, alerting to an operator console, and actuating privation apparatus. One or more cameras provides video streams to a processor which derives object motion. Attributes of object motion trigger notification to record and alert on conditions associated with an aerial surveillor. Tracking of pixels, pixel blocks, and motion vectors enable rules based determination of an airborne surveillance vehicle according to characteristic hovering or lingering by masking LSB of accumulated positive and negative movements. Actuators cause privation enhancement apparatus to obfuscate the protected asset (structure, area, or volume) or to interpose between the protected asset and the surveillor. The method traces a travel path of an object; and determines a ray from a private property to a surveillor drone.

Claims

1. A method for operating a privacy enhancement system comprising:

receiving a series of images from at least one image capture device (cameras);

determining a block of pixels containing an edge by applying a digital filter in a synchronized stereoscopic frame of both cameras;

determining a movement direction from the set of up, down, left, and right, for each block of pixels containing an edge over a sequence of images;

incrementing and decrementing movement registers for each movement;

setting an intrusion/surveillor flag on the cluster of blocks stored into a video archive upon determining a condition that the accumulated increments and decrements of movement are substantially zero; and

,

privating the protected asset.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein privating comprises interposing.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein privating comprises obfuscating.

4. A method for operating a privacy enhancement system comprising:

receiving a series of compressed images from at least one image capture device (camera);

decoding motion vectors from each of the series of compressed images;

determining a vector of travel across the viewport by a linear regression through a recent sequence of images;

predicting a next location by extrapolation;

determining that the predictions have substantially failed;

transmitting an intrusion/surveillor alert to a security console; and

,

privating the protected asset.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein privating comprises interposing.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein privating comprises obfuscating.

7. A method for operation of a privacy security system comprising:

transforming at least one stream of compressed video files into surveillance alerts and notifications by performance in a processor the processes;

determining a motion object by comparing each video frame with a subsequent frame;

reading stored thresholds of linger-time, motion, flight path parameters, and video block occupancy;

decoding motion vectors from the compressed video files;

comparing motion vectors to a motion magnitude threshold;

triggering a surveillance alert and notification on the condition that the motion vectors exceed the motion threshold in both one positive and one negative variance;

partitioning a video frame into a plurality of path polygons;

annotating each polygon each time a motion object enters;

annotating each polygon each time the motion object exits; and

predicting the next polygon to be entered based on smoothing a path.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining the condition that a motion object has created a loop by exiting a first polygon and reentering the first polygon from a different direction; and

triggering a surveillance alert and notification.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining the condition that a motion object has lingered within a polygon beyond a linger-time threshold; and

triggering a surveillance alert and notification.

10. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining the condition that a motion object is loitering by entering and exiting all the polygons in an area of the frame; and

triggering a surveillance alert and notification.

11. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining the condition that a motion object enters a polygon inconsistent with traveling a smooth path; and

triggering a surveillance alert and notification.