Method and device for detecting and analyzing the reception behavior of people

• US 6,967,674 B1
• Filed: 09/06/2000
• Issued: 11/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Displaycom GmbH
• Original Assignee: Displaycom GmbH
• Inventors: Lausch, Holger
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Vu
• Application Number:
  US10/069,907
• Time in Patent Office: 1,903 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348149-150, 348162-164, 348/169, 348/153, 348/159, 382103-104, 340/539.25, 340/541, 340/545.3, 340/565, 250/336.1, 250/339.02
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• 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: G07C 9/00 Individual registration on entry or exit

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and device for detecting and analyzing the reception behavior of people in at last one reception room according to visual, audiovisual and/or auditory messages, actions and/or to the guiding of flows of customers. The method should be able to be realized with a lower degree of complexity than that of prior art methods. The invention is characterized in that, from the moment each person enters the reception room until their departure, their location coordinates, body coordinates, turning movements and rotating movements of their body and/or of parts of their body, as well as the posture of their body and/or the position of their extremities are detected with a frequency that is greater than one.

Claims

1. A method for detecting and analyzing behavior of at least one person in at least one room in dependence on at least one visual, audiovisual and/or auditory message intended to influence actions and/or path of movement of said at least one person, comprising:

detecting time-dependently by at least one predetermined frequency the position coordinates of said at least one person, the body coordinates of said at least one person, turns and rotations of said at least one person'"'"'s body and/or parts thereof as well as said at least one person'"'"'s posture and/or attitude of said at least one person'"'"'s extremities from said at least one persons'"'"'s entry into the room up to said at least one person'"'"'s exit from the room; and

analyzing one or more of said position coordinates body coordinates, turns and rotations of said at least one person'"'"'s body and/or parts thereof and posture and/or attitude of said at least one person'"'"'s extremities to determine the influence of said at least one visual, audiovisual and/or auditory message on said at least one person.

2. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body coordinates comprise both concentration point coordinates of a projection of said at least one person and of single parts of the body of said at least one person as well as the outline coordinates of said at least one person.

3. Method as claimed in claim 1 for detecting and analyzing behavior of said at least one person in a plurality of adjacent rooms, wherein at least one identification value and respective coordinates are associated with said at least one person, said identification value and respective coordinates being used for continuing to monitor said at least one person when said at least one person moves from one room to a room adjacent thereto.

11. Method according to claim 1, wherein said at least on predetermined frequency is greater than 1 Hz.

12. Method according to claim 11, wherein said at least one predetermined frequency is in a range of 7 to 30 Hz.

4. Apparatus for detecting and analyzing the behavior of at least one person in at least one room in dependence on at least one visual, audiovisual and/or auditory message intended to influence actions and/or path of movement of said at least one person in said at least one room, comprising means for detecting time-dependently by at least one predetermined frequency the position coordinates of said at least one person, the body coordinates of said at least one person, turns and rotations of said at least one person'"'"'s body and/or parts thereof as well as said at least one person'"'"'s posture and/or attitude of said at least one person'"'"'s extremities from said at least one person'"'"'s entry into up to the said at least one person'"'"'s exit from the room, the detecting means comprising at least one sensor module in an upper position of each room, said sensor module being adapted for detecting the electromagnetic radiation from said at least one person present in said room, and at least one image processing module and at least one database module, said sensor, image processing and database modules being operatively connected together, wherein

the apparatus is adapted for analyzing one or more of said position coordinates, body coordinates, turns and rotations of said at least one person'"'"'s body and/or parts thereof and posture and/or attitude of said at least one person'"'"'s extremities to determine the influence of said at least one visual, audiovisual and/or auditory message on said at least one person.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, comprising a plurality of said sensor modules and said image processing modules.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a central evaluation and control module and wherein a plurality of said database modules are operatively connected to said central evaluation and control module.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said at least one sensor module comprises first and second sensor modules, said second sensor module being associated with said first sensor module and being adapted for transmitting electromagnetic or thermal radiation for spectroscopic or thermal evaluation thereof.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said first sensor module is a CCD-camera.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the upper portion of each room is a central area of a ceiling of the room.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said at least one room comprises a plurality of contiguous rooms including areas characterized as one of said contiguous rooms overlapping areas characterized as another of said contiguous rooms.

13. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the frequency of the means for detecting is at least 1 Hz.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the frequency of the means for detecting is a range of 7 to 30 Hz.