IMAGE SURVEILLANCE AND REPORTING TECHNOLOGY

• US 20130215266A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 08/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Trundle, Stephen Scott, Martin, Jean-Paul, Slavin, Alison Jane, Hutz, David, McCarthy, Robert J. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 9,386,281 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19602 Image analysis to detect motion of the intruder, e.g. by frame subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1966 Wireless systems, other than telephone systems, used to communicate with a camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19667 Details realated to data compression, encryption or encoding, e.g. resolution modes for reducing data volume to lower transmission bandwidth or memory requirements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19695 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors start video recording or forwarding but do not generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/008 Alarm setting and unsetting, i.e. arming or disarming of the security system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/046 prevention of tampering with detection circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

Image surveillance and reporting technology, in which an event that is indicative of potential physical activity within an area corresponding to a location of a camera unit is detected. In response to detection of the event, the camera unit is controlled to capture one or more images of the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit. The one or more images captured by the camera unit are analyzed to determine whether the one or more images include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit. The one or more images are handled based on the determination of whether the one or more images include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit.

Claims

1. A image sensor comprising:

a camera configured to capture images of an area corresponding to a location of the image sensor;

a passive infrared motion sensor configured to sense motion in the location of the image sensor;

an analog filter that is configured to filter noise from the output of the passive infrared motion sensor and generate a trigger based on the output of the passive infrared motion sensor being indicative of motion other than noise;

an analog-to-digital convertor configured to digitize the output of the passive infrared motion sensor;

a digital filter that is configured to wake up from a sleep mode based on the analog filter generating the trigger, the digital filter processing the digitized output of the passive infrared motion sensor to determine whether the motion other than noise detected by the analog filter relates to real motion; and

at least one processor configured to control the camera to capture an image based on the digital filter determining that the motion other than noise detected by the analog filter relates to real motion.

2. The image sensor of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to ignore the motion other than noise detected by the analog filter based on the digital filter determining that the motion other than noise detected by the analog filter does not relate to real motion.

3. The image sensor of claim 1, further comprising:

a communication device configured to receive an interpreted script from a monitoring server that is located remote from the image sensor; and

an interpreter configured to;

receive a signal from a sensor related to a function associated with the image sensor,

compare the received signal to a trigger that causes performance of the interpreted script,

determine that the trigger defined by the interpreted script has been met based on comparison results,

initiate performance of the interpreted script to evaluate a monitoring rule in accordance with one or more parameters based on the determination that the trigger has been met, and

based on the evaluation of the monitoring rule revealing that the monitoring rule has been satisfied, cause performance of an action associated with the interpreted monitoring script.

4. The image sensor of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform operations comprising:

accessing one or more security system rules that control whether one or more images captured by the camera are transmitted to a remote monitoring server based on one or more events sensed by a security system that monitors a property associated with the area corresponding to the location of the image sensor, the security system including sensors that are separate from the camera and that are configured to sense events related to security of the monitored property;

monitoring for events sensed by the sensors included in the security system that monitors the property associated with the area corresponding to the location of the image sensor;

based on the monitoring, comparing one or more events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules;

determining whether to transmit the one or more images captured by the camera to the remote monitoring server based on the comparison of the one or more events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules; and

based on a determination to transmit the one or more images captured by the camera from the gateway to the remote monitoring server, transmitting, from the gateway to the remote monitoring server, the one or more images captured by the camera.

5. The image sensor of claim 4, wherein accessing one or more security system rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on one or more events sensed by the security system that monitors the property associated with the area corresponding to the location of the camera comprises accessing a security system rule that controls the one or more images captured by the camera to be transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on the security system detecting an alarm event that results in a notification to a central monitoring station and that controls the one or more images captured by the camera to be withheld from the remote monitoring server based on the security system detecting an absence of the alarm event that results in the notification to the central monitoring station.

6. The image sensor of claim 4, wherein accessing one or more security system rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on one or more events sensed by the security system that monitors the property associated with the area corresponding to the location of the camera comprises accessing a security system rule that controls whether the one or more images captured by the camera are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on activity detected within the monitored property by the sensors included in the security system.

7. The image sensor of claim 6, wherein accessing the security system rule that controls whether the one or more images captured by the camera are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on activity detected within the monitored property by the sensors included in the security system comprises accessing a security system rule that controls whether the one or more images captured by the camera are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on activity detected within the monitored property by the sensors included in the security system after the one or more images were captured by the camera.

8. The image sensor of claim 6, wherein accessing the security system rule that controls whether the one or more images captured by the camera are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on activity detected within the monitored property by the sensors included in the security system comprises accessing a security system rule that controls whether the one or more images captured by the camera are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on activity detected within the monitored property by a combination of at least one motion sensor that is separate from the camera and at least one door contact sensor that is separate from the camera and senses whether or not a door of the monitored property is in an open or closed position.

9. The image sensor of claim 4, wherein accessing one or more security system rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on one or more events sensed by the security system that monitors the property associated with the area corresponding to the location of the camera comprises accessing one or more security system rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on one or more events sensed by the security system after the one or more images were captured by the camera.

10. The image sensor of claim 4:

wherein the one or more images captured by the camera comprise multiple images;

wherein determining whether to transmit the one or more images captured by the camera to the remote monitoring server based on the comparison of the one or more events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules comprises determining to transmit a subset of the multiple images to the remote monitoring server based on the comparison of the one or more events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules; and

wherein transmitting, to the remote monitoring server, the one or more images captured by the camera comprises transmitting, to the remote monitoring server, the subset of the multiple images without one or more images from the multiple images that are outside of the subset.

11. The image sensor of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise:

based on a determination not to transmit the one or more images captured by the camera to the remote monitoring server, determining whether to discard the one or more images captured by the camera based on application of the one or more security system rules to the events sensed by the sensors included in the security system; and

based a determination not to discard the one or more images captured by the camera, maintaining the one or more images captured by the camera in electronic storage and continuing to monitor for events sensed by the sensors included in the security system.

12. The image sensor of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise:

accessing one or more user-defined rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on a number of images that have been transmitted to the remote monitoring server within a particular period of time; and

wherein determining whether to transmit the one or more images captured by the camera to the remote monitoring server based on the comparison of the one or more events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules comprises;

determining the number of images that have been transmitted to the remote monitoring server within the particular period of time;

comparing the determined number of images that have been transmitted to the remote monitoring server within the particular period of time to the one or more user-defined rules; and

determining whether to transmit the one or more images captured by the camera to the remote monitoring server based on a combination of the comparison of the determined number of images that have been transmitted to the remote monitoring server within the particular period of time to the one or more user-defined rules and the comparison of the one or more events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules.