Remote video monitoring of non-urban outdoor sites
First Claim
1. A method of remotely monitoring an outdoor site, the method comprising:
- providing a self-contained video monitoring unit (VMU) at the outdoor site near ground elevation, including affixing a chassis of the VMU to a permanent mount, and providing a generally cylindrical housing enclosing the chassis, the housing being formed from an alloy that includes ferrous material;
passively monitoring, from within the housing of the VMU, an ambient magnetic field at the outdoor site to detect a disturbance caused by a presence of a substantial ferrous object;
in response to a detection of a disturbance in the ambient magnetic field,capturing video data by the VMU; and
wirelessly transmitting, from the VMU, a signal representing at least a portion of the video data to a computer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of remotely detecting rule violations at an outdoor site according to one aspect of the invention includes installing a self-contained VMU at the outdoor site near ground elevation, including affixing a chassis of the VMU to a permanent mount. The VMU is operated in a low-power standby mode that includes passively monitoring an ambient magnetic field at the outdoor site to detect a disturbance caused by a presence of a substantial ferrous object. In response to a detection of a disturbance in the ambient magnetic field, the VMU exits the low-power standby mode and initiates an active operating mode. The active operating mode includes operating a video camera by the VMU to capture video data; and wirelessly transmitting a signal representing at least a portion of the video data to a computer network. The video data is received by a remote node in the computer network via the computer network, and stored in association with a database record.
228 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method of remotely monitoring an outdoor site, the method comprising:
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providing a self-contained video monitoring unit (VMU) at the outdoor site near ground elevation, including affixing a chassis of the VMU to a permanent mount, and providing a generally cylindrical housing enclosing the chassis, the housing being formed from an alloy that includes ferrous material; passively monitoring, from within the housing of the VMU, an ambient magnetic field at the outdoor site to detect a disturbance caused by a presence of a substantial ferrous object; in response to a detection of a disturbance in the ambient magnetic field, capturing video data by the VMU; and wirelessly transmitting, from the VMU, a signal representing at least a portion of the video data to a computer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for automatically monitoring a plurality of outdoor sites, the system comprising:
a video monitoring unit (VMU), installed at an outdoor site, and comprising; a ruggedized housing fixed to a non-movable base that is situated on the ground, the ruggedized housing being formed from an alloy that includes ferrous material and having a generally cylindrical shape; a video capture circuit situated within the housing, a first event sensor circuit situated within the housing, the first event sensor circuit configured to passively detect changes in the ambient magnetic field external to the housing; a radio transmitter circuit situated within the housing; a controller circuit situated within the housing and electrically coupled with each of the video capture circuit, the first event sensor circuit, and the radio transmitter circuit; and a power source situated within the housing and electrically coupled with each of the video capture circuit, the first event sensor circuit, the radio transmitter circuit, and the controller circuit, the power source enabling the VMU to operate independently of any external power source;
wherein the controller circuit executes instructions that cause the VMU to;operate in a video capture mode wherein the video capture circuit captures a video sequence of the corresponding outdoor site, and wherein the radio transmitter circuit transmits at least a portion of the video sequence to a receiver interfaced with a computer network. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
Specification