OBJECT MATCHING METHOD AND CAMERA SYSTEM WITH AN OBJECT MATCHING FUNCTION

• US 20170148175A1
• Filed: 11/14/2016
• Published: 05/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vivotek, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Vivotek, Inc.
• Inventors: Liu, Wei-Ming, Liu, Cheng-Chieh
• Granted Patent: US 10,186,042 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/11 Region-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/292 Multi-camera tracking
• 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: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums

Abstract

An object matching method is applied to a camera system with an object matching function. The object matching method includes detecting a moving object within overlapped monitoring areas of two image capturing units to generate a first coordinate point and a second coordinate point respectively upon a first coordinate system and a second coordinate system, calculating at least one transforming parameter of the first coordinate system relative to the second coordinate system, acquiring a reliability level according to a comparison result between the transforming parameter and a threshold, determining a final transform parameter by the reliability level, utilizing the final transform parameter to transform the first coordinate point into a third coordinate point upon the second coordinate system, and determining whether the first coordinate point and the second coordinate point indicate the same object by difference between the third coordinate point and the second coordinate point.

Claims

1. An object matching method of matching an object staying inside an overlapped monitoring region between adjacent monitoring regions captured by two image capturing units, the two image capturing units respectively having a first coordinate system and a second coordinate system, the object matching method comprising:

detecting at least one moving object located inside the overlapped monitoring region to generate a first coordinate point upon the first coordinate system and a second coordinate point upon the second coordinate system;

calculating at least one transforming parameter of the first coordinate system relative to the second coordinate system;

acquiring a reliability level according to a comparison result between the at least one transforming parameter and a threshold;

determining a final transform parameter by the reliability level;

utilizing the final transform parameter to transform the first coordinate point into a third coordinate point upon the second coordinate system; and

determining whether the first coordinate point and the second coordinate point are considered as the same moving object while a difference between the third coordinate point and the second coordinate point is smaller than a specific value.

2. The object matching method of claim 1, wherein while a plurality of moving objects is located inside the overlapped monitoring region, any first coordinate point upon the first coordinate system is corresponding to any related second coordinate point upon the second coordinate system to make a pair, and a difference between coordinate points of each pair or a combination of the said difference is utilized to determine whether the two coordinate points respectively upon different coordinate systems are considered as the same moving object.

3. The object matching method of claim 2, wherein while the two coordinate points respectively upon different coordinate systems are considered as the same moving object, the moving object is marked by a new reference number.

4. The object matching method of claim 3, wherein routes of the two coordinate points respectively upon different coordinate systems about the same moving object are combined to generate a moving route of the moving object marked by the new reference number.

5. The object matching method of claim 1, wherein the image capturing units are driven to simultaneously capture monitoring images of the moving object within the overlapped monitoring region.

6. The object matching method of claim 1, wherein a step of calculating the at least one transforming parameter of the first coordinate system relative to the second coordinate system comprises:

acquiring coordinate values of the moving object at several time points during at least one predetermined time interval;

calculating an assuming parameter by the coordinate values;

generating an assuming function according to the assuming parameter;

substituting the coordinate values of the moving object at the whole time points during the at least one predetermined time interval for the assuming function to generate at least one substitution result; and

determining whether the assuming parameter corresponding to the substitution result is regarded as the at least one transforming parameter in accordance with the substitution result.

7. The object matching method of claim 6, wherein a period of the moving object staying inside the overlapped monitoring region is divided into a plurality of predetermined time intervals.

8. The object matching method of claim 6, wherein a step of determining whether the assuming parameter corresponding to the substitution result is regarded as the at least one transforming parameter in accordance with the substitution result is:

defining the assuming parameter having a maximal amount of the substitution results within an allowed range as the at least one transforming parameter.

9. The object matching method of claim 1, wherein a step of acquiring the reliability level according to the comparison result between the at least one transforming parameter and the threshold comprises:

utilizing the moving object within the overlapped monitoring region to acquire a plurality of transforming parameters;

setting some of the plurality of transforming parameters having similar parameter values as being selfsame; and

defining an amount of the said selfsame transforming parameters as the reliability level.

10. The object matching method of claim 9, wherein while the reliability level is greater than a predetermined value, some of the plurality of transforming parameters having the similar parameter values are utilized to define the final transform parameter.

11. The object matching method of claim 1, wherein the at least one transforming parameter is selected from a group consisting of an offset, a scaling ratio, a rotary view angle between the first coordinate system and the second coordinate system, and combination thereof.

12. A camera system with an object matching function, having an operation processing unit and two image capturing units electrically connected with each other, an overlapped monitoring region being set between two adjacent monitoring regions captured by the two image capturing units, the two image capturing units respectively having a first coordinate system and a second coordinate system, the operation processing unit being adapted to detect at least one moving object located inside the overlapped monitoring region to generate a first coordinate point upon the first coordinate system and a second coordinate point upon the second coordinate system, to calculate at least one transforming parameter of the first coordinate system relative to the second coordinate system, to acquire a reliability level according to a comparison result between the at least one transforming parameter and a threshold, to determine a final transform parameter by the reliability level, to utilize the final transform parameter to transform the first coordinate point into a third coordinate point upon the second coordinate system, and to determine whether the first coordinate point and the second coordinate point are considered as the same moving object while a difference between the third coordinate point and the second coordinate point is smaller than a specific value, for matching the same moving object staying inside the overlapped monitoring region.

13. The camera system of claim 12, wherein while a plurality of moving objects is located inside the overlapped monitoring region, any first coordinate point upon the first coordinate system is corresponding to any related second coordinate point upon the second coordinate system to make a pair, and a difference between coordinate points of each pair or a combination of the said difference is utilized to determine whether the two coordinate points respectively upon different coordinate systems are considered as the same moving object.

14. The camera system of claim 13, wherein while the two coordinate points respectively upon different coordinate systems are considered as the same moving object, the moving object is marked by a new reference number.

15. The camera system of claim 14, wherein routes of the two coordinate points respectively upon different coordinate systems about the same moving object are combined to generate a moving route of the moving object marked by the new reference number.

16. The camera system of claim 12, wherein the operation processing unit is further adapted to acquire coordinate values of the moving object at several time points during at least one predetermined time interval, to calculate an assuming parameter by the coordinate values, to generate an assuming function according to the assuming parameter, to substitute the coordinate values of the moving object at the whole time points during the at least one predetermined time interval for the assuming function to generate at least one substitution result, and to determine whether the assuming parameter corresponding to the substitution result is regarded as the at least one transforming parameter in accordance with the substitution result while calculating the at least one transforming parameter of the first coordinate system relative to the second coordinate system.

17. The camera system of claim 16, wherein the operation processing unit is further adapted to define the assuming parameter having a maximal amount of the substitution results within an allowed range as the at least one transforming parameter while determining whether the assuming parameter corresponding to the substitution result is regarded as the at least one transforming parameter in accordance with the substitution result.

18. The camera system of claim 12, wherein the operation processing unit is further adapted to utilize the moving object within the overlapped monitoring region to acquire a plurality of transforming parameters, to set some of the plurality of transforming parameters having similar parameter values as being selfsame, and to define an amount of the said selfsame transforming parameters as the reliability level while acquiring the reliability level according to the comparison result between the at least one transforming parameter and the threshold.

19. The camera system of claim 18, wherein while the reliability level is greater than a predetermined value, some of the plurality of transforming parameters having the similar parameter values are utilized to define the final transform parameter.

20. The camera system of claim 12, wherein the at least one transforming parameter is selected from a group consisting of an offset, a scaling ratio, a rotary view angle between the first coordinate system and the second coordinate system, and combination thereof.