VIDEO IMAGE PROCESSING APPLIANCE MANAGER

• US 20060238616A1
• Filed: 03/31/2005
• Published: 10/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Bedros, Saad J., Curtner, Keith L., Au, KwongWing
• Application Number:
  US10/907,410
• Publication Number:
  US 20060238616A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/143
• 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 13/19613 Recognition of a predetermined image pattern or behaviour pattern indicating theft or intrusion
• 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: G08B 13/1968 Interfaces for setting up or customising the system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19682 Graphic User Interface [GUI] presenting system data to the user, e.g. information on a screen helping a user interacting with an alarm system

Abstract

A video monitoring system including a video image-processing appliance manager adapted to provide an interface for one or more monitoring devices is disclosed. A video monitoring system in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention may include a host application including one or more monitoring devices, a video image-processing appliance manager called by the host application, and one or more appliance modules called by the appliance manager and adapted to run a number of video image-processing algorithms or routines that can be used to detect the occurrence of events within a region of interest. Methods of interfacing with one or more monitoring devices within a video monitoring network are also disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A video monitoring system, comprising:

a host application including one or more monitoring devices;

a video image-processing appliance manager called by the host application, said appliance manager configured to run a video image-processing algorithm; and

one or more appliance modules called by the appliance manager.

2. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein each of the appliance modules are further adapted to run a video image-processing algorithm therein.

3. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the video image-processing algorithm includes an initiation algorithm.

4. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the video image-processing algorithm includes a video analysis algorithm.

5. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the video image-processing algorithm includes a closing algorithm.

6. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the appliance manager is configured to run, in sequence, an initiation algorithm, a video analyzing algorithm, and a closing algorithm.

7. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the appliance manager comprises a separate module from the host application and forms a single interface for the one or more monitoring devices.

8. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said one or more monitoring devices includes at least one video camera.

9. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said one or more appliance modules includes a video motion detection module.

10. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said one or more appliance modules includes a video motion tracking module.

11. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said one or more appliance modules includes an object classification module.

12. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said one or more appliance modules includes an event detection module.

13. The vide monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said one or more appliance modules includes an action dispatcher module.

14. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said one or more appliance modules are selected from the group of modules consisting of a video detection module, a video motion tracking module, an object classification module, an event detection module, and an action dispatcher module.

15. The video monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising a database in communication with the appliance manager.

16. The vide monitoring system of claim 15, wherein the database includes a camera structure database and an event database.

17. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the appliance manager is adapted to permit modular incorporation of future appliance modules within the video monitoring system.

18. The video monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising means for configuring images or other data transmitted from the host application to the appliance manager.

19. The video surveillance system of claim 1, wherein the appliance manager includes a manager harness.

20. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said host application comprises a host video application software program.

21. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said system comprises a LAN network.

22. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said system comprises a WAN network.

23. A video monitoring system, comprising:

a host application including one or more monitoring devices;

a video image-processing appliance manager called by the host application, said appliance manager configured to run a video image-processing algorithm;

one or more appliance modules called by the appliance manager; and

wherein the appliance manager is adapted to permit modular incorporation of one or more additional appliance modules within the video monitoring system.

24. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein the video image-processing algorithm includes an initiation algorithm.

25. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein the video image-processing algorithm includes a video analysis algorithm.

26. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein the video image-processing algorithm includes a closing algorithm.

27. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein the appliance manager comprises a separate module from the host application and forms a single interface for the one or more monitoring devices.

28. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein said one or more monitoring devices includes at least one video camera.

29. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein said one or more appliance modules includes a video motion detection module.

30. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein said one or more appliance modules includes a video motion tracking module.

31. The video monitoring network of claim 23, wherein said one or more appliance modules includes an object classification module.

32. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein said one or more appliance modules includes an event detection module.

33. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein said one or more appliance modules includes an action dispatcher module.

34. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein said one or more appliance modules are selected from the group of modules consisting of a video detection module, a video motion tracking module, an object classification module, an event detection module, and an action dispatcher module.

35. The video monitoring system of claim 23, further comprising a database in communication with the appliance manager.

36. The video monitoring system of claim 35, wherein the database includes a camera structure database and an event database.

37. The video monitoring system of claim 23, further comprising means for configuring images or other data transmitted from the host application to the appliance manager.

38. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein the appliance manager includes a manager harness.

39. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein said host application comprises a host video application software program.

40. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein said system comprises a LAN network.

41. The video monitoring system of claim 23, wherein said system comprises a WAN network.

42. A video monitoring system, comprising:

a host application including one or more video monitors;

a video image-processing appliance manager called by the host application; and

one or more appliance modules called by the appliance manager, each appliance module adapted to run a number of video image-processing algorithms to process images received from the one or more video monitors.

43. A video monitoring system, comprising:

a host application including one or more monitoring devices;

a video image-processing appliance manager called by the host application;

one or more appliance modules called by the appliance manager, each appliance module adapted to run a number of video image-processing algorithms for determining the occurrence of an event within a region of interest; and

a database adapted to store one or more parameters relating to the one or more monitoring devices and/or the one or more appliance modules.

44. A video monitoring system, comprising:

a host application including one or more monitoring devices;

a video image-processing appliance manager called by the host application; and

one or more appliance modules each adapted to run a number of video image-processing algorithms, said one or more appliance modules being selected from the group of modules consisting of a video detection module, a video motion tracking module, an object classification module, an event detection module, and an action dispatcher module.

45. A method of interfacing with one or more monitoring devices within a video monitoring network, comprising the steps of:

providing a video image-processing appliance manager adapted to provide an interface with a host application including one or more monitoring devices;

associating the appliance manager with one or more appliance modules each adapted to run a number of video image-processing algorithms or routines;

analyzing video images received from at least one of the monitoring devices using one or more of the appliance modules; and

outputting a response to the host application and/or a user.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein said step of analyzing video images received from at least one of the monitoring devices includes the steps of:

calling an initiation algorithm within the appliance manager and creating a camera structure database and an event database; and

calling a video analysis algorithm within the appliance manager and tasking one or more of the appliance modules to detect the occurrence of an event within a region of interest.