Method and apparatus for monitoring an analog meter
First Claim
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1. A method for monitoring an analog meter having a set of graduation segments and at least one needle, the method comprising the steps of:
- recording a first digitized image of the meter;
extracting a set of edge points, the points representing the graduation segments;
performing a Hough Transform on the set of edge points so as to obtain a center point of the graduation segments;
extracting an intensity profile of the image along a path through the graduation segments so as to obtain a set of detected graduation segments and a position of the needle relative to the graduation segments;
obtaining a parameter representative of needle position accuracy;
recording a second digitized image of the meter;
obtaining the position of the needle without performing a Hough Transform so as to obtain a position of a center point when the parameter meets a predefined condition; and
performing the Hough Transform so as to obtain the center point when the parameter does not meet the predefined condition.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for remote monitoring of an analog meter is set out which employs a Hough Transform on the edge points of the meter scale to obtain the center of the scale. The graduation marks and the needle are detected from the intensity profile along various radii. Thereby, the meter reading can be flexibly adopted to different meter scales during an easy training process. The method can be modified for oblique reading of the scale.
43 Citations
9 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring an analog meter having a set of graduation segments and at least one needle, the method comprising the steps of:
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recording a first digitized image of the meter;
extracting a set of edge points, the points representing the graduation segments;
performing a Hough Transform on the set of edge points so as to obtain a center point of the graduation segments;
extracting an intensity profile of the image along a path through the graduation segments so as to obtain a set of detected graduation segments and a position of the needle relative to the graduation segments;
obtaining a parameter representative of needle position accuracy;
recording a second digitized image of the meter;
obtaining the position of the needle without performing a Hough Transform so as to obtain a position of a center point when the parameter meets a predefined condition; and
performing the Hough Transform so as to obtain the center point when the parameter does not meet the predefined condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for monitoring an analog meter, comprising:
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a sensor for obtaining a first digitized image of the analog meter;
a data processor programmed for;
extracting a set of edge points from the image wherein the edge points represent graduation segments of the meter, performing a Hough Transform on the set of edge points to obtain a center point of the graduation segments, extracting an intensity profile of the image along a path through the graduation segments;
obtaining a position of the needle relative to the set of detected graduation segments;
obtaining a parameter representative of needle position accuracy, initiating a recordation of a second digitized image of the analog meter, obtaining the position of the needle without performing a Hough Transform so as to obtain a position of a center point when the parameter meets a predefined condition, and performing the Hough Transform so as to obtain the center point when the parameter does not meet the predefined condition, and an interface device for communicating with a communication network data generated by the data processor.
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Specification