Video surveillance system

• US 20080030579A1
• Filed: 08/07/2007
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Model Software Corporation
• Original Assignee: Model Software Corporation
• Inventors: Kelly, John, Miller, J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,605,155 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30196 Human being; Person
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30241 Trajectory
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/277 involving stochastic approaches, e.g. using Kalman filters
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/28 Quantising the image, e.g. histogram thresholding for discrimination between background and foreground patterns
• 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 13/19613 Recognition of a predetermined image pattern or behaviour pattern indicating theft or intrusion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19645 Multiple cameras, each having view on one of a plurality of scenes, e.g. multiple cameras for multi-room surveillance or for tracking an object by view hand-over
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

Viewing a three dimensional area from numerous camera angles at different exposures using intensity and chromaticity data at the different exposures to create a pixel model for each pixel. A current image is compared with the background model to find pixels that have changed from their pixel model. These novel pixels are processed using contiguous region detection and grouped into foreground figures. For each camera, software extracts features from each foreground figure. A central processor maintains an object model for each foreground figure. A graphical user interface displays the relative location of foreground figures in a world model. The location and identification of the foreground figures is checked against a table of permissions so as to selectively generate an alert. If a figure leaves or is about the leave a cell, the invention accounts for its approximate position and notifies adjacent cells of the expected arrival of the foreground figure.

Claims

1-80. -80. (canceled)

81. A video surveillance systems comprising:

a first camera station comprising one or more cameras;

a second camera station comprising one or more cameras;

a first region, a first camera station and the second camera station each providing at least one camera to survey said first region;

a third camera station comprising one or more cameras;

a fourth camera station comprising one or more cameras;

a second region, the third camera station and the fourth camera station each providing at least one camera to survey said second region;

a control unit, the control unit tracking a figure as it exits the first region and enters the second region, the control unit updating an object mode in a world model to reflect the change in regions.

82. A system according to claim 81, wherein the first camera station calculates a first position estimate based upon a first vector in real space and the second camera station calculates a second position estimate based upon a second vector in real space.

83. A system according to claim 82, the control unit comparing the first position estimate with the second position estimate so as to update the position of the figure.

84. A system according to claim 83, the control unit graphically displaying an icon on a video interface based upon the position of the figure.

85. A system according to claim 84, the control unit checking the positioning of the figure against a table of permissions.

86. A system according to claim 85, the control unit generating an alarm based upon the position of the figure.

87. A system according to claim 81, the control unit assigning the figure a global id and a local id, the local id corresponding to the first region.

88. A system in accordance with claim 87, the first region a closed are entry point, the control unit assigning the figure an old global id and an old local id.

89. A system in accordance with claim 87, the control unit assigning the figure a second global id and a second local id, the second local id corresponding to the second region.

90. A system in accordance with claim 89, the control unit connecting the first global id with the second global id once the figure in the second region is determined to be the same figure as the figure in the region.