MONITORING METHOD AND CAMERA
First Claim
1. A method of masking part of an image of a scene captured by a camera monitoring the scene, comprising the steps ofmounting a light source such that it illuminates a part of the scene with light having a predefined spectral content and a spatial verification pattern,capturing an analysis image of the scene by a sensor sensitive to the predefined spectral content,segmenting the analysis image, based on the predefined spectral content, to find a candidate image region,detecting a spatial pattern in the candidate image region,comparing a characteristic of the detected spatial pattern to a corresponding characteristic of the spatial verification pattern, and, if the characteristics match,identifying the candidate image region as a verified image region corresponding to the part of the scene which is illuminated by the light source,obtaining image data representing the scene, andhiding image data, corresponding to the verified image region, from being displayed, such as by blurring or substituting, and displaying remaining image data, thereby providing a privacy mask for the part of the scene which is illuminated by the light source, ordisplaying image data corresponding to the verified image region, and hiding remaining image data from being displayed, such as by blurring or substituting, thereby providing a privacy mask for the non-illuminated part of the scene.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of monitoring a scene by a camera (7) comprises marking a part (14) of the scene with light having a predefined spectral content and a spatial verification pattern. An analysis image is captured of the scene by a sensor sensitive to the predefined spectral content. The analysis image is segmented based on the predefined spectral content, to find a candidate image region. A spatial pattern is detected in the candidate image region, and a characteristic of the detected spatial pattern is compared to a corresponding characteristic of the spatial verification pattern. If the characteristics match, the candidate image region is identified as a verified image region corresponding to the marked part (14) of the scene. Image data representing the scene is obtained, and image data corresponding to the verified image region is processed in a first manner, and remaining image data is processed in a second manner.
23 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of masking part of an image of a scene captured by a camera monitoring the scene, comprising the steps of
mounting a light source such that it illuminates a part of the scene with light having a predefined spectral content and a spatial verification pattern, capturing an analysis image of the scene by a sensor sensitive to the predefined spectral content, segmenting the analysis image, based on the predefined spectral content, to find a candidate image region, detecting a spatial pattern in the candidate image region, comparing a characteristic of the detected spatial pattern to a corresponding characteristic of the spatial verification pattern, and, if the characteristics match, identifying the candidate image region as a verified image region corresponding to the part of the scene which is illuminated by the light source, obtaining image data representing the scene, and hiding image data, corresponding to the verified image region, from being displayed, such as by blurring or substituting, and displaying remaining image data, thereby providing a privacy mask for the part of the scene which is illuminated by the light source, or displaying image data corresponding to the verified image region, and hiding remaining image data from being displayed, such as by blurring or substituting, thereby providing a privacy mask for the non-illuminated part of the scene.
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12. A camera arranged to monitor a scene, comprising
a sensor arranged to sense a predefined spectral content and capture an analysis image of a scene, an image processing unit arranged to segment the analysis image, based on the predefined spectral content, to find a candidate image region, detect a spatial pattern in the candidate image region, compare a characteristic of the detected spatial pattern to a corresponding characteristic of a spatial verification pattern, and, if the characteristics match, identify the candidate region as a verified image region corresponding to a part of the scene illuminated by a light source with light having the predefined spectral content and the spatial verification pattern, obtain image data representing the scene, and hide image data, corresponding to the verified image region, from being displayed, such as by blurring or substituting, and display remaining image data, to thereby provide a privacy mask for the part of the scene which is illuminated by the light source, or display image data corresponding to the verified image region, and hide remaining image data from being displayed, such as by blurring or substituting, to thereby provide a privacy mask for the non-illuminated part of the scene.
Specification