SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING VIDEO DATA

• US 20120092510A1
• Filed: 03/04/2010
• Published: 04/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Masters, Amy, Bhandari, Ajit, Kwon, Dae-Soon, Palmer, Sally-Anne
• Granted Patent: US 8,878,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/207.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21805 enabling multiple viewpoints, e.g. using a plurality of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

Described herein are systems and methods for managing video data. In overview, various embodiments provide software, hardware and methodologies associated with the management of video data. In overview, a distributed DVM system includes a plurality of discrete DVM systems, which may be geographically or notionally distributed. Each discrete DVM system includes a respective central DVM database server thereby to provide autonomy to the discrete system. This server supports one or more camera servers, these camera servers in turn each being configured to make available live video data from one or more cameras. Each system additionally includes one or more clients, which provide a user interface for displaying video data (such as video data from one of the cameras). The discrete DVM systems are primarily linked by way of a centralized database server/database server communications interface. However, the clients are configured to connect directly to camera servers belonging to their local DVM system or a remote DVM system in the distributed architecture.

Claims

1. A Digital Video Management (DVM) system comprising:

one or more local cameras,

one or more local camera servers, each having a respective one or more assigned local cameras, the local camera servers being configured to make available, to DVM clients, video data from their respective one or more assigned local cameras;

a local DVM database server that maintains data indicative of the local cameras and local camera servers, wherein the local DVM database server is in communication with a remote DVM database server for a remote DVM system, wherein the remote DVM system includes;

one or more remote cameras, and

one or more remote camera servers, each having a respective one or more assigned remote cameras, the remote camera servers being configured to make available, to DVM clients, video data from their respective one or more assigned remote cameras; and

a local client in communication with the local DVM database server, the local client being configured for displaying live video data to a user, wherein the local client is configured to communicate with a local camera server for displaying video data from one of its respective one or more assigned local cameras, and configured to communicate with a remote camera server for displaying video data from one of its respective one or more assigned remote cameras.

2. A DVM system according to claim 1 wherein the local DVM database server maintains data indicative of the remote cameras and remote camera servers.

3. A DVM system according to claim 1 wherein the remote DVM system includes a remote client, the remote client being configured for displaying live video data to a user, wherein the remote client is configured to communicate with a remote camera server for displaying video data from one of its respective one or more assigned remote cameras, and configured to communicate with a local camera server for displaying video data from one of its respective one or more assigned local cameras.

4. A DVM system according to claim 1 wherein the local DVM database server receives from the remote database server data indicative of a remote event, and in response triggers a local event.

5. A DVM system according to claim 1 wherein the local DVM database server is configured to provide to the remote DVM database server data indicative of a local event, such that the remote database server in response triggers an event in the remote DVM system.

6. A method for operating a client in a local Digital Video Management (DVM) system, the method comprising:

receiving a user command to display live video data from a predetermined camera;

identifying, based on data maintained by the local DVM system, details for a camera server that is configured for providing live video data for the predetermined camera;

in the case that the camera server is part of a remote DVM system, providing to the camera server a request to view live video data from the predetermined camera, wherein the request is provided over a TCP/IP connection between the client and the camera server;

receiving from the camera server the live video data via the TCP/IP connection between the client and the camera server; and

displaying the live video data.

7. A method according to claim 6 including:

generating UI components for displaying the live video data and one or more aspects of information regarding the predetermined camera, wherein at least one of the aspects of information regarding the predetermined camera is obtained from a DVM database server of the local DVM system, wherein the information is received by the DVM database server of the local DVM system from a DVM database server of the remote DVM system.

8. A method according to claim 6 including:

providing UI control components for controlling the predetermined camera, wherein in response to input provided to the UI control components control signals are provided to the camera server via the TCP/IP connection between the client and the camera server.

9. A method according to claim 6 wherein the request to view live video data from the predetermined camera is indicative of locally-specified video parameters.

10. A method according to claim 9 wherein the locally-specified video parameters include frame rate.

12. A method according to claim 9 wherein the credentials are identified based on the context of the request to display live video data received from the remote client.

13. A method according to claim 9 further including:

in the case that the identified credentials match locally stored pre-approved credentials, additionally making a reservation of the camera on behalf of the remote client, wherein data indicative of the reservation propagates to the remote DVM system by way of communications between a DVM database server of the local DVM system and a DVM database server of the remote DVM system.

14. A method according to claim 9 further including:

in the case that the identified credentials match locally stored pre-approved credentials, providing to the remote client a token indicative of an access permission, wherein the remote client is able to control the camera during a period defined by the token.

15. A method according to claim 9 further including:

in the case that the identified credentials match locally stored pre-approved credentials, receiving, processing and implementing camera control commands from the remote client.

16. A computer program product containing a set of instructions that causes a computer to perform a method according to claim 6.

17. A carrier medium for carrying computer executable code that, when executed on a processor, allows the processor to perform a method according to claim 6.

18. A system configured for performing a method according to claim 6.

11. A method for operating a local camera server in a local Digital Video Management (DVM) system, the method comprising including:

receiving, from a remote client in a remote DVM system, via a TCP/IP connection between the remote client and the local camera server, a request to display live video data from a predetermined camera;

identifying credentials for the client; and

in the case that the identified credentials match locally stored pre-approved credentials, providing the live video data to the client via the TCP/IP connection between the remote client and the local camera server.

19. A distributed Digital Video Management (DVM) system comprising:

a first DVM system including one or more first-system cameras, one or more first-system camera servers, each having a respective one or more assigned first-system cameras, the first-system camera servers being configured to make available video data from their respective one or more assigned first-system cameras to DVM clients, a first-system DVM database server that maintains data indicative of the first-system cameras and first-system camera servers, and one or more first-system clients for displaying video data to users; and

a second DVM system including one or more second-system cameras, one or more second-system camera servers, each having a respective one or more assigned second-system cameras, the second-system camera servers being configured to make available video data from their respective one or more assigned second-system cameras to DVM clients, a second-system DVM database server that maintains data indicative of the second-system cameras and second-system camera servers, and one or more second-system clients for displaying video data to users.

20. A system according to claim 19 wherein:

the first-system DVM database server and second system DVM database server are in communication for sharing data indicative of the cameras and camera servers; and

a first-system client is in communication with a second-system camera server for displaying via the first-system client live video data made available by the second-system camera server.