System and Method of Contextual Adjustment of Video Fidelity to Protect Privacy

• US 20160148016A1
• Filed: 11/25/2014
• Published: 05/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ademco Inc. (Resideo Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: RYLSKI, Erik
• Granted Patent: US 9,953,187 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/18 Image warping, e.g. rearranging pixels individually
• 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: G06V 40/172 Classification, e.g. identification
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19686 Interfaces masking personal details for privacy, e.g. blurring faces, vehicle license plates
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A method and apparatus incorporating a security camera of a security system within a residence capturing a sequence of images of a secured area of the residence, a programmed processor of the security system determining that an authorized person is present within the residence, a programmed processor detecting a person within the sequence of images and a programmed processor blurring or reducing a picture quality of an area immediately around the detected person based upon the presence of the authorized person.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a security camera within a residence capturing a sequence of images of a secured area of the residence;

a programmed processor of the security camera determining that an authorized person is present within the residence;

a programmed processor detecting a person within the sequence of images; and

a programmed processor blurring or reducing a picture quality of the detected person based upon the presence of the authorized person within the residence.

2. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of determining that the authorized person is present within the residence further comprises detecting entry of a personal identification number (PIN) at an entry point of the residence.

3. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of determining that the authorized person is present within the residence further comprises detecting the authorized person within the sequence of images.

4. The method as in claim 3 further comprising identifying a human face within an image of the sequence of images and comparing the identified face with a reference image of the authorized person.

5. The method as in claim 1 further comprising determining that the detected person is different than the authorized person.

6. The method as in claim 5 further comprising capturing and saving a detailed image of the detected person.

7. An apparatus comprising:

a security camera of a security system within a residence that captures a sequence of images of a secured geographic area of the residence;

a programmed processor of the security system that determines that an authorized person is present within the residence;

a programmed processor that detects a person within the sequence of images; and

a programmed processor that blurs or reduces a picture quality of the detected person within the sequence of images based upon the presence of the authorized person.

8. The apparatus as in claim 7 wherein the determination that the authorized person is present within the residence further comprises a user interface that detects entry of a personal identification number (PIN) at an entry point of the residence.

9. The apparatus as in claim 7 wherein the determination that the authorized person is present within the residence further comprises a processor detecting the authorized person within the sequence of images.

10. The apparatus as in claim 9 wherein the processor further comprises a face recognition processor identifying a human face within an image of the sequence of images and comparing the identified face with a reference image of the authorized person.

11. The apparatus as in claim 7 further comprising a processor that determines that the detected person is different than the authorized person.

12. The apparatus as in claim 11 further comprising a processor that captures and saves a detailed image of the detected person.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a security system that protects a secured area within a residence;

a security camera of the security system;

a programmed processor of the security system that determines that an authorized person is present within the residence;

a programmed processor that captures a sequence of images of a secured area of the residence;

a programmed processor that detects a person within the sequence of images; and

a programmed processor that blurs or reduces a picture quality of the detected person within a field of view of the sequence of images based upon the presence of the authorized person within the residence.

14. The apparatus as in claim 13 wherein the detected person further comprises a processor that detects a plurality of persons.

15. The apparatus as in claim 14 further comprising a programmed processor that blurs or reduces the picture quality of each of the plurality of persons.

16. The apparatus as in claim 14 further comprising a programmed processor that blurs or reduces the picture quality of only predefined persons of the plurality of persons.

17. The apparatus as in claim 13 further comprising a user interface that detects entry of a personal identification number (PIN) at an entry point of the residence.

18. The apparatus as in claim 14 further comprising a face recognition processor that detects the authorized person within the sequence of images.

19. The apparatus as in claim 18 further comprising a facial characteristics file used by the face recognition processor identify the authorized person.

20. The apparatus as in claim 13 further comprising a file within a memory that saves the sequence of images.