SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED SCREENING OF SECURITY CAMERAS

• US 20100074472A1
• Filed: 11/25/2009
• Published: 03/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CheckVideo, LLC (Kastle Systems International LLC)
• Original Assignee: CheckVideo, LLC (Kastle Systems International LLC)
• Inventors: Garoutte, Maurice V.
• Granted Patent: US 8,345,923 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/103
• 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: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

The present invention involves a system for automatically screening closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras for large and small scale security systems, as used for example in parking garages. The system includes six primary software elements, each of which performs a unique function within the operation of the security system to provide intelligent camera selection for operators, resulting in a marked decrease of operator fatigue in a CCTV system. Real-time image analysis of video data is performed wherein a single pass of a video frame produces a terrain map which contains parameters indicating the content of the video. Based on the parameters of the terrain map, the system is able to make decisions about which camera an operator should view based on the presence and activity of vehicles and pedestrians, furthermore, discriminating vehicle traffic from pedestrian traffic. The system is compatible with existing CCTV (closed circuit television) systems and is comprised of modular elements to facilitate integration and upgrades.

Claims

1. A processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

receive a plurality of pixel values, each pixel value being associated with a pixel within a portion of a frame of a video image;

using the plurality of pixel values, calculate an average pixel value for each group of pixels from a plurality of groups of pixels in the portion of the frame to determine an average altitude parameter for each group of pixels from the plurality of groups of pixels; and

calculate a difference in the average altitude parameter of a group of pixels from the plurality of groups of pixels having a largest average altitude parameter and the average altitude parameter of a group of pixels from the plurality of groups of pixels having a smallest average altitude parameter to determine a degree of slope parameter for the portion of the frame.

2. The processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

perform at least one pass through the frame of video image data.

3. The processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

calculate a direction of slope based on a position in the portion of the frame of the group of pixels from the plurality of groups of pixels having the largest average altitude parameter and a position in the portion of the frame of the group of pixels from the plurality of groups of pixels having the smallest average altitude parameter.

4. The processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

determine a consistency of change in a horizontal direction of the plurality of pixel values.

5. The processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

determine a consistency of change in a vertical direction of the plurality of pixel values.

6. The processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

segment a target from the frame of the video image, the target having a plurality of odd fields interlaced with a plurality of even fields; and

calculate a jaggyness parameter for the target from the plurality of pixel values, the jaggyness parameter indicating an offset in pixels between the plurality of odd fields of the target and the plurality of even fields of the target.

7. A processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

receive a plurality of pixel values, each pixel value being associated with a pixel within a portion of a frame of a video image;

using the plurality of pixel values, calculate an average pixel value for each group of pixels from a plurality of groups of pixels in the portion of the frame to determine an average altitude parameter for each group of pixels from the plurality of groups of pixels; and

calculate a direction of slope based on a position in the portion of the frame of a group of pixels from the plurality of groups of pixels having a largest average altitude parameter and a position in the portion of the frame of a group of pixels from the plurality of groups of pixels having a smallest average altitude parameter.

8. The processor-readable medium of claim 7, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

perform at least one pass through the frame of video image data.

9. The processor-readable medium of claim 7, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

determine a consistency of change in a horizontal direction of the plurality of pixel values.

10. The processor-readable medium of claim 7, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

determine a consistency of change in a vertical direction of the plurality of pixel values.

11. The processor-readable medium of claim 7, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

segment a target from the frame of the video image, the target having a plurality of odd fields interlaced with a plurality of even fields; and

calculate a jaggyness parameter for the target from the plurality of pixel values, the jaggyness parameter indicating an offset in pixels between the plurality of odd fields of the target and the plurality of even fields of the target.

12. A processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

receive a plurality of pixel values, each pixel value being associated with a pixel within a portion of a frame of a video image;

using the plurality of pixel values, generate at least one parameter used to segregate a background image of the video image from a moving target of the video image; and

analyze the moving target using the at least one parameter to determine whether the moving target is a vehicle or a pedestrian.

13. The processor-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to analyze includes code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to compare the characteristic movement of pedestrians with the movement of the moving target and to compare the characteristic movement of vehicles with the movement of the moving target.

14. The processor-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the at least one parameter including a jaggyness parameter that indicates an offset in pixels between a plurality of odd fields of the moving target and a plurality of even fields of the moving target.

15. The processor-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the at least one parameter including a jaggyness parameter that indicates an offset in pixels between a plurality of odd fields of the moving target and a plurality of even fields of the moving target, the jaggyness parameter being used to determine a speed and a direction at which the moving target is moving.

16. The processor-readable medium of claim 12, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

determine a consistency of change in a horizontal direction of the plurality of pixel values.

17. The processor-readable medium of claim 12, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

determine a consistency of change in a vertical direction of the plurality of pixel values.

18. A processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

receive a plurality of pixel values, each pixel value being associated with a pixel within a portion of a frame of a video image;

calculate a color degree parameter using the plurality of pixel values, the color degree parameter indicating how far a color of a portion of the frame is from gray scale, the color degree parameter being calculated using a two-dimensional color analysis; and

calculate a color direction parameter using the plurality of pixel values, the color direction parameter indicating a tint of the color of the portion of the frame, the color direction parameter being calculated using the two-dimensional color analysis.

19. The processor-readable medium of claim 18, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

determine a consistency of change in a horizontal direction of the plurality of pixel values.

20. The processor-readable medium of claim 18, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

determine a consistency of change in a vertical direction of the plurality of pixel values.

21. The processor-readable medium of claim 18, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

segment a target from the frame of the video image, the target having a plurality of odd fields interlaced with a plurality of even fields; and

calculate a jaggyness parameter for the target from the plurality of pixel values, the jaggyness parameter indicating an offset in pixels between the plurality of odd fields of the target and the plurality of even fields of the target.

22. The processor-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the jaggyness parameter is used to determine a speed and a direction at which the target is moving.

23. The processor-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the two-dimensional color analysis includes subtracting a first pixel value from the plurality of pixel values from a second pixel value from the plurality of pixel values and subtracting the first pixel value from the plurality of pixel values from a third pixel value from the plurality of pixel values, the first pixel value, the second pixel value and third pixel value being associated with a same pixel within the portion of the video image.