Video surveillance system employing video primitives

• US 20050146605A1
• Filed: 11/15/2001
• Published: 07/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ObjectVideo Incorporated (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ObjectVideo Incorporated (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chosak, Andrew J., Frazier, Matthew F., Hirata, Tasuki, Haering, Niels, Clark, John, Zhang, Zhong, Venetianer, Peter L., Lipton, Alan J., Severson, William E., Allmen, Mark C., Strat, Thomas M., Sfekas, James S.
• Application Number:
  US09/987,707
• Publication Number:
  US 20050146605A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7837 using objects detected or recognised in the video content
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30232 Surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/277 involving stochastic approaches, e.g. using Kalman filters
• 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 13/19606 Discriminating between target movement or movement in an area of interest and other non-signicative movements, e.g. target movements induced by camera shake or movements of pets, falling leaves, rotating fan
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19608 Tracking movement of a target, e.g. by detecting an object predefined as a target, using target direction and or velocity to predict its new position
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19615 wherein said pattern is defined by the user
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19695 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors start video recording or forwarding but do not generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44012 involving rendering scenes according to scene graphs, e.g. MPEG-4 scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A video surveillance system is set up, calibrated, tasked, and operated. The system extracts video primitives and extracts event occurrences from the video primitives using event discriminators. The system can undertake a response, such as an alarm, based on extracted event occurrences.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium comprising software for a video surveillance system, comprising code segments for operating the video surveillance system based on video primitives.

2. A computer-readable medium as in claim 1, wherein the code segments for operating the video surveillance system comprise:

code segments for extracting video primitives; and

code segments for extracting event occurrences from the video primitives.

3. A computer-readable medium as in claim 2, wherein the event occurrences are extracted using event discriminators.

4. A computer-readable medium as in claim 2, further comprising code segments for archiving the extracted video primitives.

5. A computer-readable medium as in claim 2, further comprising code segments for undertaking a response based on extracted event occurrences.

6. A computer-readable medium as in claim 5, wherein the response comprises initiating another sensor system.

7. A computer-readable medium as in claim 1, further comprising code segments for calibrating the video surveillance system.

8. A computer-readable medium as in claim 7, wherein the code segments for calibrating comprise code segments for self-calibrating the video surveillance system.

9. A computer-readable medium as in claim 8, wherein the code segments for self-calibrating comprise:

code segments for detecting as least one object in a source video; and

code segments for tracking the object.

10. A computer-readable medium as in claim 9, wherein the code segments for detecting at least one object comprise:

code segments for detecting at least one object via motion of the object; and

code segments for detecting at least one object via change in a background model.

11. A computer-readable medium as in claim 7, wherein the code segments for self-calibrating comprise:

code segments for identifying trackable areas; and

code segments for identifying typical sizes of typical objects.

12. A computer-readable medium as in claim 7, wherein the code segments for calibrating comprise:

code segments for manual calibration;

code segments for semi-automatic calibration; and

code segments for automatic calibration.

13. A computer-readable medium as in claim 1, further comprising code segments for tasking the video surveillance system with event discriminators.

14. A computer-readable medium as in claim 13, wherein the code segments for tasking comprise code segments for identifying at least one object.

15. A computer-readable medium as in claim 13, wherein the code segments for tasking comprise code segments for identifying at least one spatial area.

16. A computer-readable medium as in claim 13, wherein the code segments for tasking comprise code segments for identifying at least one temporal attribute.

17. A computer-readable medium as in claim 13, wherein the code segments for tasking identify at least one interaction.

18. A computer-readable medium as in claim 13, wherein the code segments for tasking identify at least one alarm.

19. A computer-readable medium as in claim 1, wherein the video primitives are from at least one of a video sensor and another sensor.

20. A computer-readable medium as in claim 1, wherein the video primitives are retrieved from an archive of video primitives.

21. A computer system comprising the computer-readable medium of claim 1.

22. A computer-readable medium comprising software for a video surveillance system, comprising:

code segments for accessing archived video primitives; and

code segments for extracting event occurrences from accessed archived video primitives.

23. A computer-readable medium as in claim 22, wherein the event occurrences are extracted using event discriminators.

24. A computer-readable medium as in claim 22, further comprising code segments for undertaking a response based on extracted event occurrences.

25. A method comprising the step of operating a video surveillance system based on video primitives.

26. A method comprising the steps of:

accessing archived video primitives; and

extracting event occurrences from accessed video primitives.

27. An apparatus for video surveillance, wherein the apparatus is adapted to perform video surveillance based on video primitives.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the apparatus comprises application-specific hardware to emulate a computer and/or software.