VIDEO SURVEILLANCE ENHANCEMENT FACILITATING REAL-TIME PROACTIVE DECISION MAKING

• US 20110181716A1
• Filed: 01/22/2010
• Published: 07/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Crime Point, Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Crime Point, Incorporated
• Inventors: Walton, Daniel Monte, McLeod, Daniel Scott
• Application Number:
  US12/692,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20110181716A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A proactive surveillance enhancement system and method that gives an operator an overview of a surveillance area while simultaneously allowing the operator to focus on specific details in the surveillance area. The operator is used to make decisions about what activity, object, and persons in the surveillance area warrant further investigation. Embodiments of the system and method include one or more overview cameras, which provide an overview of the surveillance area, and a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera, which provides detailed video as directed by the operator. Embodiments of the system and method display to the operator an overview video feed (as captured by the overview camera) and the inspection video feed (as captured by the PTZ camera) in a graphical user interface. The operator is able to control the PTZ camera from both the overview video feed and the inspection video feed.

Claims

1. A method for conducting proactive video surveillance, comprising:

simultaneously displaying on a display device to an operator an overview video feed from an overview camera having an overview of a surveillance area in a field-of-view of the overview camera and an inspection video feed from a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera having at least part of the surveillance area in a field-of-view of the PTZ camera;

defining a first region of interest by having the operator draw a first inspection box around the first region of interest in either the overview video feed or the inspection video feed based on a first observation of activity in the surveillance area needing further inspection as determined by the operator;

zooming the PTZ camera immediately on the first region of interest using a computing device having a processor such that the PTZ video feed contains just the first region of interest while the overview video feed still contains the overview of the surveillance area;

defining a second region of interest contained within the first region of interest by having the operator draw a second inspection box around the second region of interest in the inspection video feed based on a second observation of activity in the first region of interest needing further inspection as determined by the operator;

zooming the PTZ camera immediately on the second region of interest using the computing device having a processor such that the PTZ video feed contains just the second region of interest while the overview video feed still contains the overview of the surveillance area; and

displaying to the operator the overview video feed and the PTZ video feed to aid the operator in making real-time proactive decisions about the second observation of activity in the surveillance area displayed to the operator.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising zooming in the PTZ camera on the first region of interest irrespective of any motion with the first region of interest.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising determining an amount of zoom for the PTZ camera based on a size of the first inspection box.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising determining the amount of zoom by dividing an area of the first inspection box by an area of the overview video feed displayed on the display device.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining a largest dimension of the first inspection box as either a height or a width of the first inspection box; and

redrawing the first inspection box based on the largest dimension such that the first inspection box conforms to an aspect ratio of the PTZ video feed displayed on the display device.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising forcing a size of the first inspection box to conform to an aspect ratio of the display device such that a height and a width of the first inspection box are always at the aspect ratio.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

computing a center of the first inspection box;

determining pan, tilt, and zoom information based on a location of the first inspection; and

zooming the PTZ camera immediately on the first region of interest using the pan, tilt, and zoom information and by centering the PTZ camera on the center of the first inspection box.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining only one region of interest at a time such that there are never two regions of interest defined simultaneously.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising simultaneously displaying the overview video feed and the inspection video feed to the operator in a single graphical user interface using the display device.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

having the operator use an input device to click once at a desired location in the overview video feed; and

causing the PTZ camera to return to a same zoom as the overview camera and be centered at the desired location.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

having the operator use an input device to click once at a desired location in the inspection video feed; and

causing the PTZ camera to center at the desired location and retain a current zoom of the PTZ camera.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the first region of interest further comprises having the operator draw the first inspection box based on the operator'"'"'s first observation of activity without any need for pre-defined dwell times, a viewing order for multiple regions of interest, or other region of interest conflict rules.

13. A method implemented on a computing device having a processor for performing video surveillance of a surveillance area using a graphical user interface displayed on a display device in communication with the computing device, comprising:

displaying in a first area of the graphical user interface an overview video feed that contains an overview of the surveillance area as captured by an overview camera that is fixed in location and zoom after calibration;

displaying in a second area of the graphical user interface that is adjacent the first area an inspection video feed that contains the surveillance area as captured by a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera;

observing activity in the overview video feed that the operator determines warrants a closer look as the operator is monitoring the first and second areas of the graphical user interface;

defining a first region of interest in the first area of the graphical user interface by having the operator draw a first boundary around the first region of interest in the overview video feed;

directing the PTZ camera at the first region of interest immediately after the first region of interest is defined such that the inspection video feed contains the first region of interest that is a portion of the surveillance area and the overview video feed still contains the entire surveillance area;

having the operator click at a first click location in the inspection video feed; and

immediately centering the PTZ camera at the click location in the inspection video feed while retaining a current zoom such that the PTZ camera pans, tilts, or does both, and the inspection video feed contains a second region of interest that is a portion of the surveillance area.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

observing activity in the inspection video feed that the operator determines warrants a closer look as the operator is monitoring the first and second areas of the graphical user interface; and

defining a third region of interest in the second area of the graphical user interface by the having the operator draw a second boundary around the third region of interest in the inspection video feed.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising directing the PTZ camera at the third region of interest immediately after the third region of interest is defined such that the inspection video feed contains the third region of interest that is a portion of the second region of interest and the overview video feed still contains the entire surveillance area.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

having the operator click once at a second click location in the overview video feed; and

immediately centering the PTZ camera at the second click location and zooming the PTZ camera to a same zoom as the overview camera.

17. A computer-implemented method for enhancing video surveillance of a surveillance area, comprising:

directing an overview camera having a fixed pan, a fixed tilt, and a fixed zoom, at the surveillance area to capture the entire surveillance area;

directing a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera at the surveillance area to capture at least a portion of the surveillance area;

displaying to an operator a graphical user interface containing a first area displaying an overview video feed showing live video captured by the overview camera, and a second area displaying an inspection video feed showing live video captured by the PTZ camera, where the first and second areas are contained together in the graphical user interface;

observing a first interest zone in the overview video feed and a second interest zone in the overview video feed;

prioritizing which interest zone to inspect by deciding whether to inspect the first interest zone or the second interest zone based on a judgment of the operator;

deciding that the first interest zone warrants further investigation before the second interest zone;

defining a first region of interest in the overview video feed by having the operator draw a box around the first region of interest that encompasses the first interest zone;

directing the PTZ camera at the first region of interest immediately after the first region of interest is defined;

defining a second region of interest in the inspection video feed by having the operator draw a box around the second region of interest that is a portion of the first region of interest;

directing the PTZ camera at the second region of interest immediately after the second region of interest is defined; and

obtaining desired information about the first interest zone from the inspection video feed.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising:

deciding that the second interest zone warrants further investigation after having obtained the desired information about the first interest zone;

defining a third region of interest in the overview video feed by having the operator draw a box around the third region of interest that encompasses the second interest zone;

directing the PTZ camera at the third region of interest immediately after the third region of interest is defined; and

obtaining desired information about the second interest zone from the inspection video feed.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, further comprising:

having the operator continuously monitor both the overview video feed and the inspection video feed through the graphical user interface to determine where a subsequent region of interest should be defined in the overview video feed or inspection video feed; and

having the operator determine a length of time between defining the first region of interest, the second region of interest, and the third region of interest based on the judgment of the operator such that there is no predetermined time that the first region of interest and the second region of interest is displayed in the inspection video feed.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein motion in the first region of interest of the surveillance area has no effect on a positioning or a zoom of the PTZ camera.