System and method for high performance template driven metadata schema mapping and data storage for surveillance and sensor devices

• US 7,599,957 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2006
• Issued: 10/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Kuo Chu, Yu, Juan, Liu, Lipin
• Primary Examiner(s): Vital; Pierre M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vo; Truong V
• Application Number:
  US11/354,758
• Publication Number:
  US 20070192351A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,329 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/86 Mapping to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1968 Interfaces for setting up or customising the system
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure

Abstract

A metadata database adaptor for use with a surveillance and/or sensor system is capable of adapting metadata messages of varying formats according to needs of metadata databases. In other aspects, a metadata data model template can allow a user to define a data definition that is used to map user defined data with the metadata data model template to form XML data schema. Template mapping knowledge can then be applied for fast XML data schema to non-XML database schema generation without translation processing. In yet other aspects, an application domain template can allow a user to define a query definition that can then be processed with a mapping of the application domain template to translate Xpath, Xquery, or others to a database query.

Claims

1. A surveillance and sensor application system comprising a metadata database adaptor embodiment as computer executable instructions on a memory of a computing device comprising:

at least two applications, including at least one of a surveillance application or a sensor network application, wherein the applications produce metadata messages of varying formats;

at least two metadata databases storing the metadata messages of varying formats, and

at least two metadata database adaptors associated with the metadata databases and adapting the metadata messages of varying formats according to the needs of their respective databases;

an adaptor interface, embodiment as computer executable instructions on a memory of a computing device and executed by a processor, connecting with one or more applications and receiving metadata messages from the applications, wherein the metadata messages describe surveillance data obtained by a surveillance device, wherein the surveillance device monitors a security site to obtain the surveillance data;

a metadata database interface connecting with a metadata database device; and

one or more functional modules adapting metadata messages of varying formats according to needs of the metadata database,

wherein at least one of the functional modules employs a metadata data model template that allows a user to define a data definition that is used to map user defined data with the metadata data model template and form XML data schema so that template mapping knowledge can then be applied for fast XML data schema to non-XML database schema generation without translation processing,

wherein at least one of the functional modules utilizes metadata data model template to operate the metadata database device to generate the non-XML database schema; and

wherein at least on of the functional modules employs an application domain template that allows the user to define a query definition that can then be processed with a mapping of the application domain template to translate a query of a first query language to a database query of a second query language.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two metadata database adaptors include a regular metadata database adaptor and a master metadata database adaptor, wherein the regular metadata database adaptor contains a collection template manager module that manages collection, creation, modification, and deletion in its respective metadata database, and posts collection registration to the master metadata database adaptor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the database adaptors contain interfaces, service managers, functional modules, database managers, and database connection pools.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the adaptors includes a schema mapping manager module that can handle mapping, translation, and generation of data definition schema to XML schema and to database data schema, wherein the schema mapping manager can dynamically select multiple mapping and transformation engines based on a template definition in order to take advantage of multi-modal mapping and transformation engines.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the schema mapping manager module has a shared memory module to store active schema mapping metadata for other operation modules to use.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the adaptors includes an index manager module that provides metadata database table index creation and deletion management.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the index manager module has an intelligent mining feature to look into query operation historical data and learn from query pattern data and search operation time.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the index manager module determines if a new index needs to be created for enhancing search performance when the historical data of search operation time is over a pre-defined threshold.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the adaptors include a query mapping manager that handles mapping, translation, and generation of query criteria to the first query language and the second query language.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the query mapping manager module has an intelligent mining feature to look into query operation historical data and learn from query pattern data to determine if a new query template is needed to generate query criteria.

11. The system of claim 2, wherein at least one of the adaptors includes one or more directory services, including at least one of an adaptor directory, a collection template directory, a schema directory, or a query template directory.

12. A surveillance and sensor application system, comprising:

at least two devices, including at least one of a video surveillance device or a sensor device;

at least two applications, including at least one of a surveillance application or a sensor network application, wherein the at least two applications produce metadata messages of varying formats;

at least two metadata databases including a master metadata database and a regular metadata database, wherein the regular metadata database stores metadata contained in the metadata messages and the master metadata database only stores administrative data for managing the metadata;

at least two metadata database adaptors associated with the at least two metadata databases, and

a template database having a plurality of templates, wherein each of the plurality of templates predefines a collection of database elements for at least a first database of the metadata databases and is associated with a preselected set of database performance operations of the metadata database that are specific to the collection;

wherein each of the plurality of templates allows a user to define a data definition to map user defined data with the collection of database elements of that template and form XML data schema so that template mapping knowledge can then be applied for fast XML data schema to non-XML database schema generation without translation processing;

wherein each of the at least two metadata database adaptors comprises;

an adaptor interface connecting with and receiving the metadata messages from at least one of the at least two applications;

a metadata database interface connecting with at least one of the at least two metadata databases; and

one or more functional modules adapting the metadata messages of varying formats according to needs of at least one of the at least two metadata databases,

wherein at least one of the functional modules selects a first template from the plurality of templates and creates the predefined database elements of the first template in the first database;

wherein the at least one of the functional modules populates the first template with the metadata contained in the metadata messages for storing the metadata in the first database and triggers the preselected set of database performance operations in the first database,

wherein at least one of the functional modules employs an application domain template that allows the user to define a query definition that can then be processed with a mapping of the application domain template to translate a query of a first query language to a database query of a second query language.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least two metadata database adaptors include a regular metadata database adaptor and a master metadata database adaptor, wherein the regular metadata database adaptor contains a collection template manager module that, in accordance with at least one of the plurality of templates, manages collection, creation, modification, and deletion in its respective metadata database, and posts collection registration to the master metadata database adaptor.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the database adaptors contain interfaces, service managers, functional modules, database managers, and database connection pools.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the adaptors includes a schema mapping manager module that can handle mapping, translation, and generation of data definition schema to XML schema and to database data schema, wherein the schema mapping manager can dynamically select multiple mapping and transformation engines based on a template definition in order to take advantage of multi-modal mapping and transformation engines.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the schema mapping manager module has a shared memory module to store active schema mapping metadata for other operation modules to use.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the adaptors includes an index manager module that provides metadata database table index creation and deletion management.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the index manager module has an intelligent mining feature to look into query operation historical data and learn from query pattern data and search operation time.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the index manager module determines if a new index needs to be created for enhancing search performance when the historical data of search operation time is over a pre-defined threshold.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein the collection of database elements predefined in each of the plurality of templates include a database table, an index, and a database schema.