Method and apparatus for analyzing video data of a security system based on infrared data

• US 7,791,477 B2
• Filed: 08/16/2006
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tyco Fire & Security GmbH (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Tyco Safety Products Canada Limited (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Sharma, Raman Kumar
• Primary Examiner(s): Mullen; Thomas J
• Application Number:
  US11/504,865
• Publication Number:
  US 20080043101A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,483 Days
• Field of Search: 340/541, 340/567, 348/143, 348152-155, 348/159, 382/103
• US Class Current: 340/567
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19643 wherein the cameras play different roles, e.g. different resolution, different camera type, master-slave camera

Abstract

A security system comprises a surveillance unit comprising a visible light camera detecting video data from within a first field of view (FOV) and an infrared (IR) imager detecting IR data within the first FOV. An IR detection module determines whether at least a portion of the IR data is one of within a predetermined IR range, above a predetermined IR threshold, and below a predetermined IR threshold. A processor identifies a region of interest (ROI) within the video data to be further analyzed based on an output of the IR detection module.

Claims

1. A security system, comprising:

a surveillance unit comprising a visible light camera configured to detect video data from within a first field of view (FOV) at a first rate and an infrared (IR) imager configured to detect IR data within the first FOV;

an IR detection module configured to determine whether at least a portion of the IR data is one of within a predetermined IR range, above a predetermined IR threshold, and below a predetermined IR threshold;

a digital signal processing (DSP) module; and

a processor configured to identify a region of interest (ROI) within the video data based on an output of the IR detection module, the ROI comprising a portion of the first FOV that is less than the first FOV, the visible light camera further configured to detect the video data at a second rate that is increased with respect to the first rate after the ROI is identified, the processor further configured to transmit the video data to the DSP module, the DSP module configured to automatically analyze the video data within the ROI.

2. The security system of claim 1, the IR imager further comprising an array of IR sensors, wherein a portion of the IR sensors detect the IR data corresponding to the portion of the first FOV.

3. The security system of claim 1, the IR imager further comprising an array of IR sensors, wherein a portion of the IR sensors detect the IR data corresponding to the portion of the first FOV, the processor segmenting the video data based on the array of IR sensors.

4. The security system of claim 1, the IR imager further comprising an array of IR sensors, wherein a portion of the IR sensors detect the IR data corresponding to the portion of the first FOV, the ROI being based at least in part on positions of the IR sensors.

5. The security system of claim 1, wherein the DSP module is further configured to analyze the video data within the ROI based on at least one of predetermined IR levels, predetermined shapes, and heat signatures.

6. The security system of claim 1, further comprising a second surveillance unit comprising a second visible light camera configured to detect video data within a second FOV and a second IR imager configured to detect IR data within the second FOV, the second FOV being at least partially different than the first FOV.

7. The security system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to initiate a security alert based on an output of the DSP module.

8. A method for detecting an intruder with a security system, comprising:

acquiring video data at a first rate with a visible light camera, the video data representative of a first field of view (FOV);

acquiring infrared (IR) data representative of the first FOV with an array of infrared (IR) sensors, the IR data forming a matrix of IR values;

identifying a first region of interest (ROI) with a processor, the first ROI comprising a portion of the first FOV that is less than the first FOV, the first ROI being based on the IR data and at least one predetermined IR parameter;

after the first ROI is identified, acquiring the video data at a second rate with the visible light camera, the second rate being increased with respect to the first rate;

transmitting the video data to a digital signal processing (DSP) module; and

automatically analyzing the video data within the first ROI with the DSP module to determine if an intruder is present within the first FOV.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the IR sensors within the array is capable of providing more than one IR value at the same time.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising acquiring the video data and the IR data in corresponding data frames.

11. The method of claim 8, the method further comprising initiating an alarm with at least one of the processor and the DSP module when the intruder is present within the FOV.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising defining a second ROI within the video data with the processor, wherein the first and second ROIs are separate from each other, the automatically analyzing further comprising automatically analyzing the video data within the first and second ROIs at the same time.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

acquiring video data representative of a second FOV with a second visible light camera, the second FOV being at least partially different than the first FOV;

acquiring IR data representative of the second FOV with a second array of IR sensors; and

defining, with the processor, a second ROI within the video data representative of the second FOV based on at least the first ROI.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising tracking the intruder over time by defining a second ROI with the processor based at least in part on the first ROI.

15. A security system, comprising:

a visible light camera configured to detect video data within a first field of view (FOV);

an infrared (IR) imager comprising a group of N IR sensors, the IR sensors configured to detect IR data within the first FOV, the IR data being associated with levels of IR radiation within the first FOV;

a digital signal processing (DSP) module; and

a processor configured to identify the IR sensors that detect levels of the IR data that are at least one of within a predetermined range, above a predetermined threshold and below a predetermined threshold, the processor further configured to transmit the video data corresponding to the identified IR sensors to the DSP module, the DSP module configured to automatically analyze the video data corresponding to the identified IR sensors, the DSP module further configured to enhance the video data corresponding to the identified IR sensors, the identified IR sensors comprising less than N IR sensors.

16. The security system of claim 15, wherein the identified IR sensors correspond to a previously processed area of the video data, the processor further configured to define a subsequent area of video data for processing based on the previously processed area of the video data.

17. The security system of claim 15, wherein at least one of the DSP module or the processor initiates a security alert based on an output of the DSP module.

18. The security system of claim 16, wherein the levels of IR data represent one of a level of voltage, heat, frequency, and wavelength.