Method and apparatus for detecting objects
First Claim
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1. A method for detecting an object in a monitored area, the method comprising the steps of:
- illuminating the monitored area with a pattern;
capturing a live image of the monitored area, including the pattern; and
detecting an object in the monitored area when a change is detected in the pattern in the live image.
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Abstract
An object detection system is provided that projects one or more patterns onto a monitored area, captures one or more live images of the monitored area, and detects objects that enter the monitored area by detecting changes in the one or more patterns in the live images. Such an object detection system may be less susceptible to dynamic lighting conditions, and more sensitive to object motion and/or presence.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for detecting an object in a monitored area, the method comprising the steps of:
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illuminating the monitored area with a pattern;
capturing a live image of the monitored area, including the pattern; and
detecting an object in the monitored area when a change is detected in the pattern in the live image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for detecting an object in a monitored area, the method comprising the steps of:
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illuminating the monitored area with a first pattern;
creating moiré
interference bands by imposing a second pattern shifted relative to the first pattern;
capturing a live image of the monitored area, including the moiré
interference bands; and
detecting an object in the monitored area when a change is detected in the moiré
interference bands in the live image. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24)
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23. A method for detecting an object in a monitored area comprising:
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illuminating the monitored area with a specified pattern having bright areas and dark areas, each with a brightness level;
capturing a plurality of reference image mask windows, each mask window covering at least part of the monitored area;
for each reference image mask window, calculating a difference “
gref”
between the brightness levels corresponding to the light areas in the mask window and the brightness levels corresponding to the dark areas in the mask window;
for each reference image mask window, capturing a corresponding live image mask window;
for each live image mask window, calculating a difference “
glive”
between the brightness levels corresponding to the light areas in the mask window and the brightness levels corresponding to the dark areas in the mask window; and
indicating that an object has been detected when, for any mask window, the calculated value “
glive”
is different from the corresponding calculated value “
gref”
by at least a specified threshold value.
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Specification