SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ARCHIVING DATA FROM A SENSOR ARRAY

• US 20090002494A1
• Filed: 08/08/2008
• Published: 01/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Shotspotter Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Shotspotter Incorporated
• Inventors: CALHOUN, Robert B.
• Application Number:
  US12/188,808
• Publication Number:
  US 20090002494A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/159
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/22 Position of source determined by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements G01S5/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for archiving and processing information from an array of remote sensors. Aspects of the innovations may be incorporated, for example, into a gunshot detection and location system to preserve sensor information surrounding a gunshot event for later review or analysis. According to one implementation, an exemplary method may including sampling video signals from the sensors and storing samples in a storage device such that the video signals detected from the sensors may be selected and/or reproduced. Other exemplary implementations may include creating a searchable database wherein the video information is indexed as a function of parameters, which may include data associated with the capture of video signals such as sensor information, time of capture, etc.

Claims

1-14. -14. (canceled)

15. A method for archiving information in a gunshot detection system of a type having an array of sensors placed over a geographic area, wherein said array of sensors detects gunshots which occur proximate to the array, the method comprising the steps of:

utilizing a storage device;

periodically sampling video signals from the sensors; and

storing each sample in said storage device wherein the video signals detected by each sensor can be selected using time data, wherein video signals may be reproduced with the relative timing between the video signals of each sensor preserved.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising

providing a file structure on said mass storage device, said file structure having a plurality of files, each file having an absolute time associated therewith.

17. The method of claim 16

wherein the samples are stored in a file having an appropriate absolute time associated therewith.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein each file of said plurality of files represents one second of sampled video.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said files representing one second of sampled video are organized into minute directories, each minute directory having sixty said files representing one second of sampled video.

20. The method of claim 15 further including the step of, when a gunshot is detected, storing an index to the location of the stored samples in said mass storage device corresponding to said gunshot.

21. The method of claim 20 further including the step of reproducing the video surrounding said gunshot by using said index to locate said stored samples corresponding to said gunshot.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the video signals are further indexed according to metadata so as to provide a metadata index.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the metadata index parses the searchable database into subsets which comprise impulsive noise events.

36. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

detecting video events; and

creating a searchable database wherein video signals containing the video events are indexed, with each video signal being indexed as a function of a sensor that detected the video signal.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the detected video events include start times, and wherein each video signal is further indexed as a function of the start times.

24. A method for archiving video information in a gunshot detection system of a type having an array of acoustic sensors placed over a geographic area, wherein said array of sensors detects gunshots which occur proximate the array, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining, from data storage elements on remote sensors, information indicative of video signal samples that contain impulsive noise components;

creating a searchable database wherein the information is indexed as a function of a sensor and a time associated with capture of video signals;

processing data in the searchable database to identify an impulsive noise component or a video signal sample of interest; and

downloading, from a remote sensor, video data associated with the impulsive noise component or the audio signal sample of interest.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the information in the searchable database is further indexed according to metadata so as to provide a metadata index.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the metadata index parses the information in the searchable database into subsets of information which comprise impulsive noise components.

27. The method of claim 24 further comprising providing a file structure on said mass storage device, said file structure having a plurality of files, each file having an absolute time associated therewith.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the samples of video data are stored in a file having an appropriate absolute time associated therewith.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein each file of said plurality of files represents one second of sampled audio.

30. The method of claim 24 further including the step of, when a gunshot is detected, storing an index to the location of the stored samples in said mass storage device corresponding to said gunshot.

31. The method of claim 30 further including the step of reproducing the video surrounding said gunshot by using said index to locate said stored samples corresponding to said gunshot.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein a permanent recording is made of said later reproduction.

33. The method of claim 24 further comprising identifying a non-gunshot event and storing an index to the location of the stored samples in said mass storage device corresponding to said non-gunshot event.

34. The method of claim 33 further including the step of reproducing the video surrounding said non-gunshot event by using said index to locate said stored samples corresponding to said non-gunshot event.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein determination of a source location of said gunshot event is performed from said later reproduction.