Methods and systems for operating a video surveillance system

• US 20070115358A1
• Filed: 11/18/2005
• Published: 05/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: UTC Fire & Security Americas Corporation, Inc. (Carrier Global Corporation)
• Original Assignee: UTC Fire & Security Americas Corporation, Inc. (Carrier Global Corporation)
• Inventors: McCormack, Kenneth
• Granted Patent: US 8,279,283 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/159
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/80 Analysis of captured images to determine intrinsic or extrinsic camera parameters, i.e. camera calibration
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/196 using television cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/20 Calibration, including self-calibrating arrangements

Abstract

Methods and systems for a video surveillance system include a plurality of video cameras, each including a field of view, the cameras are configured to at least one of zoom for changing the camera field of view, tilt for rotating the camera about a horizontal tilt axis, and pan for rotating the camera about a vertical pan axis. The system also includes a processor configured to receive a signal indicative of an image in the field of view of at least one video camera, recognize a target using the received signal, determine a direction to the target from the cameras that recognize the target, and transmit the determined direction to other ones of the plurality of video cameras.

Claims

1. A video surveillance system comprising:

a plurality of video cameras, each comprising a field of view, said cameras configured to at least one of zoom for changing the camera field of view, tilt for rotating the camera about a horizontal tilt axis, and pan for rotating the camera about a vertical pan axis; and

a processor configured to;

receive a signal indicative of an image in the field of view of at least one video camera;

recognize a target using the received signal;

determine a direction to the target from the cameras that recognize the target;

determine a direction to the camera from the target; and

transmit the determined direction of the target from the camera and the direction of the camera from the target to other ones of the plurality of video cameras.

2. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said plurality of video cameras are spaced about an area under surveillance such that at least a portion of the field of view of at least some of the plurality of video cameras overlaps at least a portion of the field of view of at least some others of the plurality of video cameras.

3. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to recognize at least one characteristic of the target.

4. A system in accordance with claim 3 wherein the processor is configured to recognize at least one of a shape, a size, a color, and a pattern of the target.

5. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said processor is configured to automatically select a target from a plurality of potential targets using a predetermined characteristic of the target.

6. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said processor is configured to generate camera movement commands that facilitate maintaining the target in a field of view of the video camera.

7. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said processor is configured to generate camera movement commands that define a search pattern for each other video camera.

8. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said processor is configured to generate a search pattern for predetermined ones of the plurality of video cameras that searches the determined direction for the target.

9. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said processor is configured to generate a database including a relative position of each camera with respect to each other camera in the video surveillance system.

10. A method of operating a video surveillance system including a plurality of video cameras, said method comprising:

providing a first video camera communicatively coupled to a second video camera;

recognizing a target with the first video camera;

transmitting at least one characteristic of the target from the first video camera to the second video camera; and

recognizing the target with the second video camera using the transmitted characteristics.

11. A method in accordance with claim 10 wherein providing a first video camera communicatively coupled to a second video camera comprises communicating between the first and second video cameras through a video surveillance system processor.

12. A method in accordance with claim 10 wherein recognizing a target with the first video camera comprises determining at least one of a shape, a size, a color, a pattern, and a speed of movement of the target.

13. A method in accordance with claim 10 wherein recognizing a target with the first video camera comprises automatically selecting a target from a plurality of potential targets using a predetermined characteristic of the target.

14. A method in accordance with claim 10 wherein recognizing a target with the first video camera comprises generating camera movement commands that facilitate maintaining the target in a field of view of the first video camera.

15. A method in accordance with claim 10 wherein recognizing the target with the second video camera using the transmitted characteristics comprises generating camera movement commands that define a search pattern for second video camera.

16. A method in accordance with claim 10 wherein recognizing the target with the second video camera using the transmitted characteristics comprises executing a search of the area of view of the second video camera for the target wherein the area of view represents the camera field of view at all pan, tilt, and zoom positions.

17. A method in accordance with claim 10 further comprising:

recognizing the target with the first video camera and with the second video camera simultaneously;

determining a vector of the field of view of the first video camera and the second video camera; and

determining a relative position of the first video camera and the second video camera with respect to each other using the determined vectors.

18. A method in accordance with claim 17 further comprising iteratively performing the following steps to determine a relative position of the plurality of videos cameras with respect to each other video camera:

moving the target through an area of view of the plurality of video cameras;

recognizing the target with at least two of the plurality of video cameras simultaneously;

determining a vector of the field of view of the video cameras; and

determining a relative position of the video cameras with respect to each other using the determined vectors.

19. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for operating a video surveillance system including a first video camera communicatively coupled to a second video camera, said program comprising at least one code segment that recognizes a target from signals received from the first video camera and then:

transmits at least one characteristic of the target from the first video camera to the second video camera; and

recognizes the target with from signals received from the second video camera using the transmitted characteristics.

20. A computer program in accordance with claim 19 further comprising at least one code segment that recognizes the target using at least one of a determined shape, size, color, pattern, and speed of movement of the target.