IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD

• US 20110096922A1
• Filed: 10/20/2010
• Published: 04/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Oya, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 9,288,451 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

An object detection unit of a network camera detects an object including a human figure from image data. An event detection unit analyzes the image data based on a result of the object detection by the object detection unit. Based on a result of the image data analysis, an event detection unit determines to make identifiable to a client a human figure that should be monitored by the client and to apply masking to a human figure that should not be monitored by the client to make it unidentifiable to the client.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus for transmitting image data to a client, comprising:

a detection unit configured to detect an unidentifiable object that should be made unidentifiable to the client, from the image data;

an analysis unit configured to analyze the image data;

a processing unit configured to apply change processing to the unidentifiable object detected by the detection unit to make it unidentifiable to the client; and

a determination unit configured to determine to make identifiable to the client an unidentifiable object under monitoring that should be monitored by the client based on a result of the image data analysis by the analysis unit,

wherein an unidentifiable object not under monitoring is made unidentified to the client by the change processing.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects the unidentifiable object and the identifiable object to be made identifiable to the client,

wherein the analysis unit associates objects with each other based on position information of the object detected by the detection unit and, at the same time, determines whether a plurality of objects associated with an unidentifiable object detected in image data of a second frame preceding a first frame is detected in the image data of the first frame, and

wherein, when the plurality of objects associated with the unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the second frame is determined to have been detected in the first frame by the analysis unit, the determination unit determines to make identifiable to the client at least one of the plurality of objects while the change processing is not applied by the processing unit.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a setting unit configured to set an area under detection among display areas of the image data,

wherein the detection unit detects the unidentifiable object and the object to be made identifiable to the client,

wherein the analysis unit associates the object with the area under detection based on the position information of the object detected by the detection unit and, at the same time, determines whether the image data in the area under detection of the second frame is continuously different from the image data in the area under detection from a third frame to the first frame, in which the second frame precedes the first frame by a first predetermined number of frames and the third frame precedes the first frame by a second predetermined number of frames, and

wherein, when the analysis unit determines that the image data in the area under detection of the second frame is continuously different from the image data in the area under detection from the third to first frames, the determination unit determines to make identifiable to the client at least one unidentifiable object associated with the area under detection.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit does not apply the change processing to the unidentifiable object that is the object under monitoring determined to be made identifiable to the client by the determination unit.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a transmission unit configured to transmit to the client key information for generating image data before the processing unit applies the change processing to the unidentifiable object determined to be made identifiable to the client by the determination unit.

6. An image processing apparatus for transmitting image data to a client, comprising:

a detection unit configured to detect an object from the image data;

a processing unit configured to apply the change processing to the unidentifiable object which is an object detected by the detection unit and should be made unidentifiable to the client, to make it unidentifiable to the client; and

a determination unit configured to determine to make identifiable to the client the unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the first frame based on a result of the object detection by the detection unit and, at the same time, make identifiable to the client the unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the second frame preceding the first frame, and associated with the object detected in the image data of the first frame and determined to be made identifiable to the client,

wherein the object not determined to be made identifiable to the client by the determination unit, among unidentifiable objects detected in the image data of the second frame, is made displayable on the client while the change processing is not applied by the processing unit.

7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, when the unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the first frame and associated with the unidentifiable object determined to be made displayable while the change processing is not applied by the processing unit, is continuously detected in the image data from the second to the first frames, the determination unit determines to make the relevant unidentifiable object identifiable to the client.

8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, when a plurality of objects associated with the one unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the second frame is detected in the image data of the first frame, the determination unit determines to make identifiable to the client at least one unidentifiable object among the plurality of objects detected in the image data of the first frame and, at the same time, determines to make identifiable to the client the one unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the second frame.

9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a setting unit configured to set an area under detection among display areas of image data,

wherein, when the image data in the area under detection of the second frame is continuously different from the image data in the area under detection from the third to first frames in which the third frame precedes the first frame by the second predetermined number of frames, the determination unit determines to make identifiable to the client the unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the first frame and associated with the object detected in the image data in the area under detection of the first frame and, at the same time, determines to make identifiable to the client the unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the second frame and associated with the unidentifiable object determined to be made identifiable to the client.

10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the processing unit applies the change processing to the image data to make unidentifiable to the client the human figure detected by the detection unit.

11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a transmission unit configured to transmit to the client key information for generating image data before the processing unit applies the change processing to the unidentifiable object determined to be made identifiable to the client by the determination unit.

12. An image processing method performed by an image processing apparatus for transmitting image data to a client, the image processing method comprising:

detecting from the image data an unidentifiable object that should be made unidentifiable to the client;

analyzing the image data;

applying change processing to the detected unidentifiable object to make it unidentifiable to the client; and

determining to make identifiable to the client the unidentifiable object which is an object under monitoring that should be monitored by the client, based on a result of the image data analysis,

wherein the unidentifiable object not under monitoring is made unidentified to the client by the change processing.

13. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program executable by a computer for transmitting image data to a client, the program comprising:

detecting from the image data an unidentifiable object that should be made unidentifiable to the client;

analyzing the image data;

applying change processing to the detected unidentifiable object to make it unidentifiable to the client; and

determining to make identifiable to the client the unidentifiable object, an object under monitoring that should be monitored by the client, based on a result of the image data analysis,

wherein the unidentifiable object not under monitoring is made unidentified to the client by the change processing.

14. An image processing method performed by an image processing apparatus for transmitting image data to a client, the image processing method comprising:

detecting an object from the image data;

applying change processing to the detected object, an unidentifiable object that should be made unidentifiable to the client, to make it unidentifiable to the client; and

determining to make identifiable to the client the unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the first frame based on a result of the object detection and, at the same time, determining to make identifiable to the client the unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the second frame preceding the first frame, and associated with the object detected in the image data of the first frame and determined to be made identifiable to the client,

wherein the object not determined to be made identifiable to the client, among unidentifiable objects detected in the image data of the second frame, is made displayable to the client with the change processing applied.

15. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program executable by a computer for transmitting image data to a client, the program comprising:

detecting an object from the image data;

applying change processing to the detected object, an unidentifiable object that should be made unidentifiable to the client, to make it unidentifiable to the client; and

determining to make identifiable to the client the unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the first frame based on a result of the object detection and, at the same time, determining to make identifiable to the client the unidentifiable object detected in the image data of the second frame preceding the first frame, and associated with the object detected in the image data of the first frame and determined to be made identifiable to the client,

wherein the object not determined to be made identifiable to the client, among unidentifiable objects detected in the image data of the second frame, is made displayable to the client with the change processing by the processing unit applied.