Distributed image recognizing system and traffic flow instrumentation system and crime/disaster preventing system using such image recognizing system

• US 5,467,402 A
• Filed: 03/14/1994
• Issued: 11/14/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Fujiwara, Kazunori, Okuyama, Yoshiyuki, Kobayashi, Yoshiki, Kitamura, Tadaaki, Yahiro, Masakazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Boudreau, Leo H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): KELLEY, CHRISTOPHER S
• Application Number:
  US08/212,378
• Time in Patent Office: 610 Days
• Field of Search: 382/1, 382/4, 382/7, 382/56, 382/104, 382/141, 382/181, 382/305, 382/307, 382/203, 340/829.07, 340/829.09, 340/937, 235/379, 348/161
• US Class Current: 382/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/00 Pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/00 Image analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors

Abstract

A plurality of image recognizing systems which are distributed and arranged and a centralized control apparatus are mutually connected via transmission lines. Each of the image recognizing apparatuses executes a predetermined image process to the image which is input from the ITV camera and transmits the processed image to the centralized control apparatus. The centralized control apparatus forms tuning parameters which are necessary for the instrumentation control by each image recognizing system from the transmitted processed image and transmits the tuning parameters to each image recognizing system. After the tuning parameters are received, each image recognizing system executes the measuring process. Therefore, for a plurality of image recognizing systems which are distributed at remote locations, the instrumentation control of each image recognizing system can be executed by the centralized control apparatus from one position.

Claims

1. A distributed image processing system comprising:

a plurality of distributed image recognizing systems, each including;

a camera to produce an image,

means for processing said image according to a predetermined processing procedure, thereby generating a processed image for measuring of a given event based on said processed image, and

means for transmitting image data relating to one of said produced image and said processed image to a transmission line; and

a centralized control apparatus connected to each of said image recognizing systems through said transmission line, to control said image recognizing systems, said centralized control apparatus comprising;

means for selecting one of said plurality of image recognizing systems according to a selection signal,

means for receiving and displaying on a monitor the image data transmitted from said selected recognizing system,

means for processing the received image data thereby generating a process data required for said one of said image recognizing systems, and

means for transmitting said process data to said selected image recognizing system to execute a measurement of the given event upon receiving the transmitted process data;

wherein said centralized control apparatus includes means for storing knowledge used for executing said processing procedure by each of said plurality of image recognizing systems and means for transmitting said knowledge in response to a request from said one of the image recognizing systems requesting said knowledge.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said knowledge includes knowledge regarding at least one of the following:

a situation of shadow which appears in the image of the subject;

a past record of recognition of the event by each of the image recognizing systems; and

a past record of the turning parameters produced by said centralized control apparatus.

3. A distributed image recognizing system comprising:

a plurality of transmission lines;

a plurality of image recognizing units, each including,

image input means for inputting an image,

processing means for processing the input image based on received process data to produce a processed image, and

transmitting means for transmitting at least one of the input image and the processed image to a respective one of said plurality of transmission lines; and

a centralized control apparatus connected to said plurality of image recognizing units through said plurality of transmission lines, respectively, said centralized control apparatus comprising,

storing means for storing at least one of said input image and the processed image transmitted from one of said image recognizing units through the respective transmission line,

an image processor for processing said at least one of said input image and the processed image stored in said storing means according to a predetermined procedure to generate process data to be used by said processing means of said one image recognizing unit when processing the input image,

display means having a display screen for displaying said at least one of said input image and the processed image stored in said storing means on said display screen, and

supplying means for supplying said process data generated by said image processor to said processing means of said one image recognizing unit as said received process data.

4. A distributed image recognizing system according to claim 3, wherein said process data represents a given event to be measured in a specified region in said at least one of said input image and the processed image transmitted from said one image recognizing unit.

5. A distributed image recognizing system comprising:

a plurality of transmission lines;

a plurality of image recognizing units, each including,

image input means for inputting an image,

processing means for processing the input image based on received process data to produce a processed image, and

transmitting means for transmitting at least one of the input image and the processed image to a respective one of said plurality of transmission lines; and

a centralized control apparatus connected to said plurality of image recognizing units through said plurality of transmission lines, respectively, said centralized control apparatus comprising,

storing means for storing at least one of said input image and the processed image transmitted from one of said image recognizing units through the respective transmission line,

an image processor processing said at least one of said input image and the processed image stored in said storing means according to a predetermined procedure to generate process data,

display means having a display screen for displaying said at least one of said input image and the processed image stored in said storing means on said display screen,

supplying means for supplying said process data generated by said image processor to said processing means of said one image recognizing unit as said received process data,

input means for inputting a test image,

processing means for processing said input test image according to a predetermined procedure, thereby generating a processed test image, and

transmitting means for transmitting said input test image to at least one of said plurality of image recognizing units, wherein said transmitted test image is processed in said at least one of said plurality of image recognizing units according to substantially a same procedure as a procedure according to which said input test image is processed by said processing means of said centralized control apparatus, and wherein the processed test image is returned from said at least one of said plurality of image recognizing units to said centralized control apparatus, and

means for comparing said processed test image generated by said processing means of said centralized control apparatus with the processed test image returned from said at least one of said plurality of image recognizing units, thereby judging whether a failure exists in said at least one of said image recognizing units.