Method and apparatus for identifying objects depicted in a videostream
First Claim
1. A method of identifying whether a plurality of image frames may contain a common object of interest comprising the steps of:
- receiving a plurality of image frames in an image processing apparatus wherein said plurality of image frames are generated by at least one imaging device;
applying at least one filter to each of said plurality of image frames to generate a discrete output value, wherein each filter screens for a differentiable characteristic associated with an object of interest that is unique to that filter; and
using said image processing apparatus to identify image portions from said plurality of image frames that exhibit said differentiable characteristic in response to a logical combination of said discrete output values for each of said at least one filter for said plurality of image frames as potentially having a region of interest representing the common object of interest.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to an apparatus for rapidly analyzing frame(s) of digitized video data which may include objects of interest randomly distributed throughout the video data and wherein said objects are susceptible to detection, classification, and ultimately identification by filtering said video data for certain differentiable characteristics of said objects. The present invention may be practiced on pre-existing sequences of image data or may be integrated into an imaging device for real-time, dynamic, object identification, classification, logging/counting, cataloging, retention (with links to stored bitmaps of said object), retrieval, and the like. The present invention readily lends itself to the problem of automatic and semi-automatic cataloging of vast numbers of objects such as traffic control signs and utility poles disposed in myriad settings. When used in conjunction with navigational or positional inputs, such as GPS, an output from the inventative systems indicates the identity of each object, calculates object location, classifies each object by type, extracts legible text appearing on a surface of the object (if any), and stores a visual representation of the object in a form dictated by the end user/operator of the system. The output lends itself to examination and extraction of scene detail, which cannot practically be successfully accomplished with just human viewers operating video equipment, although human intervention can still be used to help judge and confirm a variety of classifications of certain instances and for types of identified objects.
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Citations
59 Claims
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1. A method of identifying whether a plurality of image frames may contain a common object of interest comprising the steps of:
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receiving a plurality of image frames in an image processing apparatus wherein said plurality of image frames are generated by at least one imaging device;
applying at least one filter to each of said plurality of image frames to generate a discrete output value, wherein each filter screens for a differentiable characteristic associated with an object of interest that is unique to that filter; and
using said image processing apparatus to identify image portions from said plurality of image frames that exhibit said differentiable characteristic in response to a logical combination of said discrete output values for each of said at least one filter for said plurality of image frames as potentially having a region of interest representing the common object of interest. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An image processing apparatus for determining whether a plurality of image frames may contain a common object of interest, said apparatus comprising:
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a frame buffer that stores digitized pixels of said plurality of digitized image frames wherein said plurality of image frames are generated by at least one imaging device;
at least one filter operably connected to said frame buffer that generates a discrete output value in response to each pixel of each image frame, wherein each filter screens for a differentiable characteristic associated with an object of interest that is unique to that filter; and
an image processor that identifies image portions from said plurality of image frames that exhibit said differentiable characteristic in response to a logical combination of said discrete output values for each of said at least one filter for said plurality of image frames as potentially having a region of interest representing the common object of interest. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A computer-readable storage media storing:
at least one computer program that operates to identify whether a plurality of image frames may contain a common object of interest by;
applying at least one filter to each of said plurality of image frames to generate a discrete output value, wherein each filter screens for a differentiable characteristic associated with an object of interest that is unique to that filter; and
identifying image portions from said plurality of image frames that exhibit said differentiable characteristic in response to a logical combination of said discrete output values for each of said at least one filter for said plurality of image frames as potentially having a region of interest representing the common object of interest. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. A computer system for identifying whether a plurality of image frames may contain an object of interest comprising:
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a first means for storing a plurality of image frames potentially having an object of interest, a second means for screening each of said image frames to determine whether an object of interest is present within said frames and generating a value output signal corresponding to each of said image frames, a third means for processing said value output signals to determine if an object of interest is present, and if so, identifying a specific region of the frame that contains the object of interest. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57)
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58. A method of identifying whether a plurality of image frames may contain a common object of interest comprising the steps of:
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receiving a plurality of image frames in an image processing apparatus wherein said plurality of image frames are generated by at least one imaging device;
separating each image frame into at least two channels of data;
applying at least one filter to each of said two channels of data of said plurality of image frames to generate a discrete output value, wherein each filter screens for a differentiable characteristic associated with an object of interest that is unique to that filter; and
using said image processing apparatus to identify image portions from said plurality of image frames that exhibit said differentiable characteristic in response to a logical combination of said discrete output values for each of said at least one filter for said at least two channels of data as potentially having a region of interest representing the common object of interest.
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59. A method of identifying whether a plurality of image frames may contain a common object of interest comprising the steps of:
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receiving a plurality of image frames in an image processing apparatus wherein said plurality of image frames are generated by at least one imaging device;
applying at least one filter to each of said plurality of image frame; and
using said image processing apparatus to identify image portions from said plurality of image frames as potentially having a region of interest representing the common object of interest based on a differentiable characteristic associated with an object of interest from said at least one filter.
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Specification