METHOD FOR EVALUATING A PLURALITY OF TIME-OFFSET PICTURES, DEVICE FOR EVALUATING PICTURES, AND MONITORING SYSTEM

• US 20140037141A1
• Filed: 02/17/2012
• Published: 02/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hella KGaA Hueck & Company
• Original Assignee: Hella KGaA Hueck & Company
• Inventors: Stefanovic, Marko, Badura, Rolf-Stephan, Karsch, Jan
• Granted Patent: US 9,589,191 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30241 Trajectory
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19608 Tracking movement of a target, e.g. by detecting an object predefined as a target, using target direction and or velocity to predict its new position
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0116 from roadside infrastructure, e.g. beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for evaluating a plurality of chronologically staggered images, said method comprising the following steps:

• • detecting a plurality of objects in a first image and storing each of the plurality of objects as tracks with a first capture time and/or a first capture location, preferably in a track list,
  • detecting a plurality of objects in further images and identifying each of the detected objects as an object assigned to the respective stored track,
• wherein the respective track is updated by the current position of the identified object and, in the respective further images, objects detected for the first time are stored with assigned tracks, and
• wherein a covered path length, a distance and/or a time difference from the first capture time is determined as a capture period for each of the objects or tracks,
• wherein the path length, the distance and/or the capture period are compared with a respective predefined threshold value, and
• wherein the objects or tracks are classified according to the result of the comparison as objects or tracks to be taken into consideration or as objects or tracks not to be taken into consideration, wherein a number of stored tracks is determined for at least one of the images.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating a plurality of chronologically offset images, said method comprising the following steps:

detecting a plurality of objects in a first image and storing each of the plurality of objects as tracks with a first capture time and/or a first capture location, and

detecting a plurality of objects in further images and identifying each of the detected objects as an object assigned to the respective stored track, wherein the respective track is updated by the current position of the identified object and, in the respective further images, objects detected for the first time are stored with assigned tracks.

2. The method according to claim 1, comprising determining a number of stored tracks for at least one of the images.

3. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

storing and outputting at least one list of objects; and

using the list to establish objects crossing counting lines, to assess re-entrants into a sub-region of the images, to separately assess the object numbers in a number of sub-regions of the images, to count people standing in queues, to create heat maps, and/or to create statistics concerning residence period.

4. The method according to claim 3 comprising outputting the list in a manner chronologically staggered with respect to the storing of said list.

5. The method according to claim 3, comprising outputting a plurality of lists in a chronologically staggered manner, wherein the plurality of lists are further processed together, in such a way that the lists are used together to establish objects crossing counting lines, to assess re-entrants into a sub-region of the images, to separately evaluate the object numbers in a plurality of sub-regions of the images, to count people standing in queues, to create heat maps, and/or to create statistics concerning residence period.

6. The method according to claim 3, comprising forming the list of objects as an output track list, wherein the output track list for each object specified in the list comprises information concerning a location at which the respective object is currently located, and wherein the output track list contains information concerning the time of the first capture of the objects, the first capture location, and/or the time at which the object was last captured.

7. The method according to claim 3, comprising forming the list as a list of objects that have left an image region, wherein, for each object in the list, an entry location into the image region, an exit location from the image region, an entry time into the image region, a residence period in the image region, an exit time from the image region and/or a last movement vector of the object is contained in the list.

8. The method having the features of claim 3, comprising storing both a track list and a list of objects that have left an image region, wherein objects that have left the image region are shifted from the track list into the list of objects that have left an image region.

9. The method according to claim 8, comprising outputting a list filtered from the track list and/or a list filtered from the list of objects that have left an image region.

10. The method according to claim 9, comprising filtering out and outputting a list of the objects that were last shifted from the list of objects currently contained in the image into the list of objects that have left an image region.

11. The method according to claim 3, comprising outputting the list whenever a predefined trigger condition is met.

12. The method according to claim 3, comprising objects in the list a further attribute, and/or in that the list is sub-divided into sub-lists according to a further attribute.

13. The method according to claim 3, comprising controlling an output of the list via an HMI or MAPI.

14. The method according to claim 1, comprising, for the objects or tracks, determining a covered path length, a distance, and/or a time difference from the first capture time as a capture period, wherein the path length, the distance and/or the capture period is/are compared with a respective predefined threshold value, and wherein the objects or tracks are classified according to the result of the comparison as either (1) objects or tracks to be taken into consideration or as objects or tracks not to be taken into consideration.

15. The method according to claim 1, comprising automatically changing the predefined threshold values by a user and/or by an optimization algorithm before or during the detection of the at least one object.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the tracks are each then only taken into consideration when determining the number of tracks and/or are then only classified as tracks to be taken into consideration if the respective corresponding object is arranged in a predefined sub-region of the images.

17. The method according to claim 1, comprising outputting the specific number of tracks or objects continuously or in accordance with a plurality of images or upon the command of a user.

18. The method according to claim 1, comprising determining and storing an exit time from the plurality of images and/or the sub-region for each of the objects.

19. The method according to claim 16, comprising outputting the first capture time and the exit time and/or a time difference between the first capture time and exit time.

20. The method according to claim 1, comprising evaluating as images recorded images captured by an image capture system.

21. The method according to claim 1, comprising determining a number, averaged over time, of tracks and/or a time difference, averaged over time, between the first capture time and exit time.

22. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of objects are stored, wherein, once a predefined number of objects has been reached and/or once a predefined memory demand has been reached, an oldest object is overwritten.

23. The method according to claim 1, wherein the objects are people or items of luggage.

24. A system comprising a device for evaluating images, comprising an image processor circuit configured to:

detect a plurality of objects in a first image and storing each of the plurality of objects as tracks with a first capture time and/or a first capture location; and

detect a plurality of objects in further images and identifying each of the detected objects as an object assigned to the respective stored track, wherein the respective track is updated by the current position of the identified object and, in the respective further images, objects detected for the first time are stored with assigned tracks.

25. A surveillance system comprising at least one image capture system, and a device for evaluating images, comprising an image processor circuit configured to:

detect a plurality of objects in a first image and storing each of the plurality of objects as tracks with a first capture time and/or a first capture location; and

detect a plurality of objects in further images and identifying each of the detected objects as an object assigned to the respective stored track, wherein the respective track is updated by the current position of the identified object and, in the respective further images, objects detected for the first time are stored with assigned tracks.