APPARATUS FOR VEHICLE SERVILLANCE SERVICE IN MUNICIPAL ENVIRONMENTS

• US 20100149335A1
• Filed: 12/11/2008
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Miller, Robert R. II
• Granted Patent: US 8,736,678 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19602 Image analysis to detect motion of the intruder, e.g. by frame subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1961 Movement detection not involving frame subtraction, e.g. motion detection on the basis of luminance changes in the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A set of cameras can operate in coordination for surveillance purposes to provide situation awareness at a system level. Any infrastructure of cameras, public or private, can incidentally view and record an individual'"'"'s mobile property when in view of any of these cameras. A locating unit can determine the approximate location of a mobile property. A monitoring device that correlates to the mobile property'"'"'s location can be selected. The transmission of surveillance information from the selected monitoring device can be provided to a user, such as via a transmission to the user'"'"'s mobile device. Thus, the individual can have access to the monitoring device'"'"'s viewing or recorded data to increase surveillance of mobile property.

Claims

1. A device for transmitting information associated with a surveillance region, the device comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a signal indicative of an approximate location of a mobile property as transmitted by the mobile property;

a processor comprising;

a comparison module configured to compare the approximate location of the mobile property to the surveillance region, wherein the surveillance region is associated with a monitoring device;

a selection module configured to select the monitoring device for transmitting the information associated with the surveillance region, wherein the monitoring device is selected if the surveillance region associated with the monitoring device correlates to the approximate location of the mobile property; and

a transmitter configured to transmit the information from the selected monitoring device.

2. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the surveillance region is at least one of a plurality of surveillance regions, the device further comprising a database configured to store positional data for the plurality of surveillance regions, wherein the comparison module is configured to compare the approximate location of the mobile property to the stored positional data.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein a camera surveillance region correlates to the approximate location of the mobile property if the surveillance region:

(i) includes the approximate location of the mobile property,

(ii) is proximate to the approximate location of the mobile property, or

(iii) includes a region comprising a variable range from the approximate location of the mobile property.

4. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the information in real-time or near-real time.

5. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the information is transmitted as at least one of an audio feed, a video feed, a broadcast, an email, an image, a picture, or an SMS message.

6. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the selected monitoring device is at least one of a video recorder or an audio recorder.

7. The device in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a network component configured to communicate with a plurality of monitoring devices via a network, wherein the monitoring device is at least one of the plurality of monitoring devices linked via the network.

8. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the monitoring device is at least one of a plurality of monitoring devices, the comparison module is configured to compare the approximate location of the mobile property to a plurality of surveillance regions associated with each of the plurality of monitoring devices, and the selection module is configured to select the monitoring device that best correlates to the approximate location of the mobile property.

9. A system for transmitting information associated with a surveillance region, the system comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a signal indicative of an approximate location provided from a mobile property;

a processor comprising;

a comparison module configured to compare the approximate location of the mobile property to the surveillance region, wherein the surveillance region is associated with a monitoring device;

a selection module configured to select the monitoring device for transmitting the information associated with the surveillance region, wherein the surveillance region of the monitoring device correlates to the approximate location of the mobile property; and

a transmitter for transmitting the information from the selected monitoring device.

10. The system in accordance with claim 9, further comprising a central server to which a plurality of monitoring devices are configured to communicate to via a network, wherein the monitoring device is at least one of the plurality of monitoring devices.

11. The system in accordance with claim 10, wherein the network is at least one of a wireless communications network, a local area network, a metropolitan area network, a storage area network, or a system area network.

12. The system in accordance with claim 10, wherein the network is a subscription-based network and the mobile property is associated with a subscription.

13. The system in accordance with claim 9, wherein the monitoring device is linked to at least one of a metropolitan area surveillance system, a private surveillance system, or a public surveillance system.

14. A method of providing a feed associated with a mobile property from a camera, the method comprising:

receiving a signal indicative of an approximate location of the mobile property as transmitted by the mobile property

comparing the approximate location of the mobile property to a plurality of camera surveillance regions; and

if at least one of the plurality of camera surveillance regions correlates to the approximate location of the mobile property, transmitting the feed from the camera having the correlating camera surveillance region.

15. The method in accordance with claim 14, further comprising storing positional data for the plurality of camera surveillance regions

16. The method in accordance with claim 14, wherein transmitting the feed from the camera comprises transmitting the feed from the camera to at least one of a central server or a mobile device.

17. The method in accordance with claim 16, wherein the camera and the at least one of the central server or the mobile device communicate via a network.

18. The method in accordance with claim 17, wherein the network is a subscription-based network, the method further comprising verifying that the mobile property is associated with a subscription.

19. The method in accordance with claim 14, wherein the at least one of the plurality of camera surveillance regions correlates to the approximate location of the mobile property if the at least one of the plurality of camera surveillance regions:

(i) includes the approximate location of the mobile property,

(ii) is proximate to the approximate location of the mobile property, or

(iii) includes a region comprising a variable range from the approximate location of the mobile property.

20. The method in accordance with claim 14, wherein if more than one of the plurality of camera surveillance regions correlates to the approximate location of the mobile property, the method further comprises selecting the camera for transmission that best correlates to the approximate location of the mobile property.

21. The method in accordance with claim 14, the method further comprising transmitting the feed from a plurality of cameras, each camera having a camera surveillance region that correlates to the approximate location of the mobile property.

22. The method in accordance with claim 14, wherein the camera is a first camera with a first camera surveillance region, the method further comprising:

receiving an updated location of the mobile property;

comparing the updated location of the mobile property to the plurality of camera surveillance regions; and

selecting a second camera for transmission, wherein the second camera has a camera surveillance region that correlates to the approximate location of the mobile property.

23. A surveillance system, the system comprising

a GPS tracking unit configured to track an approximate location of a mobile property;

a transmitter configured to transmit the approximate location; and

a receiver configured to receive a video feed that represents an surveillance region of a monitoring device that correlates to the approximate location of the mobile property; and

a display unit configured to display the video feed.

24. The system in accordance with claim 23, further comprising a network component configured to communicate with the monitoring device via a network.

25. The system in accordance with claim 24, wherein the network is a subscription-based network and the mobile property is associated with a subscription.

26. A method of receiving a video feed associated with mobile property, the method comprising:

determining an approximate location of the mobile property;

providing the approximate location; and

receiving the video feed associated with the approximate location, wherein the video feed is from a monitoring device with an surveillance region that correlates to the approximate location and is selected to transmit the video feed.