Image processing method and system for generating and analyzing metadata and server for such system

• US 7,936,372 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2007
• Issued: 05/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Murakami, Miki, Demizu, Masaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Jerabek; Kelly L
• Application Number:
  US11/824,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20080016541A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,405 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348/152, 348/207.1, 348/207.11, 348/211.99, 348/211.1, 348/211, 348/4, 348/11, 348/231.99, 725/9, 725/10, 725/14
• US Class Current: 348/207.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19671 Addition of non-video data, i.e. metadata, to video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23418 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an image processing system including, an image pickup device, a server and a terminal apparatus, wherein said image pickup device including, a video data generating section and a metadata generating section wherein said server including, a video data storing section and a metadata storing section.

Claims

1. An image processing system comprising:

an image pickup device, a server for storing therein video data outputted from said image pickup device;

an image being captured with said image pickup device and being outputted in a form of the video data from said image pickup device; and

a terminal apparatus to which the video data is transmitted from said server;

wherein said image pickup device including;

a video data generating section configured to capture an image, and generating video data on the image; and

a metadata generating section configured to generate metadata representing information on an image of an object of monitoring;

wherein said server including;

a video data storing section configured to store therein the video data supplied from said image pickup device; and

a metadata storing section configured to store therein the metadata supplied from said image pickup device;

in which said server comprises an analyzing section configured to analyze the metadata stored in said metadata storing section,

in which said image processing system comprises a plurality of terminal apparatuses having different data throughputs including a first terminal apparatus having a low data throughput and a second terminal apparatus having a high data throughput, and

in which during operation said server obtains performance information of a respective terminal apparatus and supplies either the metadata stored in said metadata storing section of said server or the analysis result in said analyzing section of said server thereto depending upon the obtained performance information such that said server supplies the analysis result in said analyzing section and not the metadata stored in said metadata storing section to the first terminal apparatus having the low data throughput or low performance, and such that said server supplies the metadata stored in said metadata storing section to the second terminal apparatus having the high data throughput or high performance so that the metadata is analyzed on the second terminal apparatus side.

2. An image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the analysis is one for detecting whether or not the image has a change agreeing with a predetermined condition, and alarming a change in monitoring range.

3. An image processing system according to claim 1, wherein a number of said terminal apparatuses each include an analyzing section configured to receive the video data and the metadata supplied from said server, and analyzing the metadata supplied thereto.

4. An image processing system according to claim 1, wherein said analyzing section of said server analyzes a part of the metadata, and one of said terminal apparatuses analyzes the remainder of the metadata.

5. A server for image processing system for storing therein video data outputted from an image pickup device, an image being captured with said image pickup device and being outputted in a form of the video data from said image pickup device, and supplying the video data thus stored to a terminal apparatus,

said server for an image processing system comprising:

a video data storing section configured to store therein the video data supplied from said image pickup device;

a metadata storing section configured to store therein metadata supplied from said image pickup device; and

an analyzing section configured to analyze the metadata stored in said metadata storing section,

in which said image processing system comprises a plurality of terminal apparatuses having different data throughputs including a first terminal apparatus having a low data throughput and a second terminal apparatus having a high data throughput, and

in which during operation said server obtains performance information of a respective terminal apparatus and supplies either the metadata stored in said metadata storing section or the analysis result from said analyzing section thereto depending upon the obtained performance information such that said server supplies the analysis result from said analyzing section and not the metadata stored in said metadata storing section to the first terminal apparatus having the low data throughput or low performance, and such that said server supplies the metadata stored in said metadata storing section to the second terminal apparatus having the high data throughput or high performance so that the metadata is analyzed on the second terminal apparatus side.

6. An image processing method applied to a monitoring system including an image pickup device, a server for storing therein video data outputted from said image pickup device, an image being captured with said image pickup device and being outputted in a form of the video data from said image pickup device, and a terminal apparatus to which the video data is transmitted from said server, said image processing method comprising the steps of:

capturing an image with said image pickup device, and generating metadata representing information on an object of monitoring by said image pickup device;

storing video data and the metadata supplied from said image pickup device in said server; and

outputting a result of an analysis about the metadata stored in said server,

in which said system comprises a plurality of terminal apparatuses having different data throughputs including a first terminal apparatus having a low data throughput and a second terminal apparatus having a high data throughput, and

in which during operation said server obtains performance information of a respective terminal apparatus and supplies either the stored metadata or the analysis result thereto depending upon the obtained performance information such that said server supplies the analysis result and not the stored metadata to the first terminal apparatus having the low data throughput or low performance, and such that said server supplies the stored metadata to the second terminal apparatus having the high data throughput or high performance so that the metadata is analyzed on the second terminal apparatus side.