OBJECT DETECTION AND ANALYSIS VIA UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE
First Claim
1. A device for monitoring motion of objects of interest, comprising:
- a vehicle body;
a flight mechanism for enabling the vehicle body to be directed along an aerial flight path;
at least one camera;
at least one device sensor including at least one of an orientation sensor or a motion sensor;
at least one processor; and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to;
capture, as the device follows at least a portion of the aerial flight path during the period of time, image data using the at least one camera, the portion of the aerial flight path selected such that an area of interest is within a field of view of the at least one camera during the period of time;
determine device motion data for the device, over the period of time, using data from the at least one device sensor;
analyze, using the at least one processor, the image data to recognize instances of at least one type of object of interest represented in the image data and corresponding to the area of interest, the at least one type of object of interest including at least one of a pedestrian, a motorized vehicle, or a bicycle;
determine a number of the instances of the at least one type of object of interest represented in the image data, each of the number of instances having an associated confidence level for recognition;
determine a respective path of motion for each of at least a subset of the instances, the respective path of motion determined using the device motion data to account for motion effects in the image data resulting from movement of the device; and
transmit information about the number of instances of the at least one type of object of interest and the respective path of motion for the area of interest over the period of time.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can include one or more cameras for capturing image data within a field of view that depends in part upon the location and orientation of the UAV. At least a portion of the image data can be processed on the UAV to locate objects of interest, such as people or cars, and use that information to determine where to fly the drone in order to capture higher quality image data of those or other such objects. Once identified, the objects of interest can be counted, and the density, movement, location, and behavior of those objects identified. This can help to determine occurrences such as traffic congestion or unusual patterns of pedestrian movement, as well as to locate persons, fires, or other such objects. The data can also be analyzed by a remote system or service that has additional resources to provide more accurate results.
218 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A device for monitoring motion of objects of interest, comprising:
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a vehicle body; a flight mechanism for enabling the vehicle body to be directed along an aerial flight path; at least one camera; at least one device sensor including at least one of an orientation sensor or a motion sensor; at least one processor; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to; capture, as the device follows at least a portion of the aerial flight path during the period of time, image data using the at least one camera, the portion of the aerial flight path selected such that an area of interest is within a field of view of the at least one camera during the period of time; determine device motion data for the device, over the period of time, using data from the at least one device sensor; analyze, using the at least one processor, the image data to recognize instances of at least one type of object of interest represented in the image data and corresponding to the area of interest, the at least one type of object of interest including at least one of a pedestrian, a motorized vehicle, or a bicycle; determine a number of the instances of the at least one type of object of interest represented in the image data, each of the number of instances having an associated confidence level for recognition; determine a respective path of motion for each of at least a subset of the instances, the respective path of motion determined using the device motion data to account for motion effects in the image data resulting from movement of the device; and transmit information about the number of instances of the at least one type of object of interest and the respective path of motion for the area of interest over the period of time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of determining instances of objects of interest, comprising:
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capturing, using a device sensor of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), sensor data for an area of interest; analyzing, using at least one processor of the UAV, the sensor data to recognize instances of objects of interest represented in the sensor data, the instances recognized using at least one object recognition algorithm executed by the at least one processor of the UAV; determining at least one of a number of the instances or a respective location of each of the instances of the objects of interest within the area of interest; and providing summary data including information about at least one of the number of instances or the respective locations within the area of interest. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of monitoring objects of interest in a designated area, comprising:
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determining a regular flight path for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in order to enable a camera of the UAV to have at least a portion of the designated area in a field of view over a period of time for the monitoring; capturing, using the camera, image data corresponding to the designated area; performing a first analysis of the image data to recognize objects of interest located within the designated area; based at least in part upon at least one of a location or a movement of at least a subset of the objects of interest, modifying the regular flight path to enable capturing of additional image data enabling increased accuracy of recognition of the one or more objects of interest within the area of interest; and transmitting report data indicating at least one of a number, a location, a density, or a movement of the objects of interest within the designated area over the period of time. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification