HIGH DENSITY QUEUE ESTIMATION AND LINE MANAGEMENT

• US 20090034846A1
• Filed: 07/30/2007
• Published: 02/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Senior, Andrew W., Zhai, Yun
• Granted Patent: US 8,131,010 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/190
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/53 Recognition of crowd images, e.g. recognition of crowd congestion

Abstract

The present invention is directed to the measurement of attributes of a queue. A method for measuring an attribute of a queue in accordance with an embodiment includes: acquiring a plurality of images of a queue; extracting features from the images of the queue; analyzing the extracted features; and measuring the attribute based on the analysis of the extracted features; wherein the analyzing further comprises analyzing the extracted features at a plurality of successive time points to determine successive correspondences between the extracted features, and wherein the measuring further comprises measuring the attribute based on the successive correspondences

Claims

1. A method for measuring an attribute of a queue, comprising:

acquiring a plurality of images of a queue;

extracting features from the images of the queue;

analyzing the extracted features; and

measuring the attribute based on the analysis of the extracted features;

wherein the analyzing further comprises analyzing the extracted features at a plurality of successive time points to determine successive correspondences between the extracted features, and wherein the measuring further comprises measuring the attribute based on the successive correspondences.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises a length of a waiting line in the queue.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises a number of objects in the queue.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises a density of the queue.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises an average moving speed at any point in the queue.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises an overall average moving speed of the entire queue.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises an average waiting time of an object to exit the queue at any point in the queue.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises a fullness of the queue.

9. A system for measuring an attribute of a queue, comprising:

a system for acquiring a plurality of images of a queue;

a system for extracting features from the images of the queue;

a system for analyzing the extracted features; and

a system for measuring the attribute based on the analysis of the extracted features;

wherein the system for analyzing is configured to analyze the extracted features at a plurality of successive time points to determine successive correspondences between the extracted features, and wherein the system for measuring is configured to measure the attribute based on the successive correspondences.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the attribute comprises a length of a waiting line in the queue.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the attribute comprises a number of objects in the queue.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the attribute comprises a density of the queue.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the attribute comprises an average moving speed at any point in the queue.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the attribute comprises an overall average moving speed of the entire queue.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the attribute comprises an average waiting time of an object to exit the queue at any point in the queue.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the attribute comprises a fullness of the queue.

17. A program product stored on a computer readable medium, which when executed, measures an attribute of a queue, the computer readable medium comprising program code for:

acquiring a plurality of images of a queue;

extracting features from the images of the queue;

analyzing the extracted features; and

measuring the attribute based on the analysis of the extracted features;

wherein the analyzing further comprises analyzing the extracted features at a plurality of successive time points to determine successive correspondences between the extracted features, and wherein the measuring further comprises measuring the attribute based on the successive correspondences.

18. A method for deploying an application for measuring an attribute of a queue, comprising:

providing a computer infrastructure being operable to;

acquire a plurality of images of a queue;

extract features from the images of the queue;

analyze the extracted features; and

measure the attribute based on the analysis of the extracted features;

wherein the analyzing further comprises analyzing the extracted features at a plurality of successive time points to determine successive correspondences between the extracted features, and wherein the measuring further comprises measuring the attribute based on the successive correspondences.