Method and system for spatio-temporal event detection using composite definitions for camera systems

• US 8,134,457 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2008
• Issued: 03/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Generac Power Systems Incorporated (Generac Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Velipasalar, Senem, Brown, Lisa Marie, Hampapur, Arun, Shu, Chiao-Fe
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, TOAN NGOC
• Application Number:
  US12/132,890
• Publication Number:
  US 20090002492A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,378 Days
• Field of Search: 340/541, 340/506, 340/500, 340/5.1, 340/540, 340/545.2, 340/517, 340/521, 340/522, 348/155, 348/152, 348/135, 348/143, 707/3, 707/10, 707/101, 707/201, 709/203, 709/225, 709/229
• US Class Current: 340/506
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19615 wherein said pattern is defined by the user
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19645 Multiple cameras, each having view on one of a plurality of scenes, e.g. multiple cameras for multi-room surveillance or for tracking an object by view hand-over
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1968 Interfaces for setting up or customising the system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19693 using multiple video sources viewed on a single or compound screen
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19697 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A system and method for monitoring events includes defining alert events based on primitive event types in an environment monitored by monitoring devices. Alert parameters are set for each alert event, and alert events are combined to create a composite alert event based on a plurality of alert events. A plurality of engines is monitored to determine if multiple events comprising the composite alert event have occurred.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring events, comprising:

defining alert events based on primitive event types in an environment monitored by one or more monitoring devices;

setting alert parameters for each alert event;

combining alert events to create a composite alert event based on a plurality of alert events; and

determining if multiple events comprising the composite alert event have occurred by monitoring one or more tracking engines.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein setting alert parameters includes defining a region of interest or boundary in a camera view image.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising parsing the composite alert event by an event manager to provide an event definition to the one or more tracking engines.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, further comprising determining whether the one or more tracking engines have detected events based on monitoring information provided to the event manger.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein combining alert events to create a composite alert event includes providing an operator for combining the primitives where the primitives function as operands of the operator.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising defining a response for at least one of the alert events and the composite event.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising hierarchically combining one of alert events and/or composite alert events.

8. A computer program product comprising a computer useable storage medium including a computer readable program for establishing events for monitoring by camera, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform the steps of:

defining alert events based on primitive event types in an environment monitored by one or more monitoring devices;

setting alert parameters for each alert event;

combining alert events to create a composite alert event based on a plurality of alert events; and

determining if multiple events comprising the composite alert event have occurred by monitoring a plurality of engines.

9. A graphical user interface for establishing events to monitor by camera, comprising:

a camera view panel for displaying at least one camera view;

a control panel configured to display camera views of primitive events with set alert parameters; and

display effects configured for defining relationships between the camera views of primitive events, the relationships combining primitive events to create a composite event based on the combined primitive events.

10. The graphical user interface as recited in claim 9, further comprising a mechanism for setting graphical parameters including a region of interest or boundary in a camera view image.

11. The graphical user interface as recited in claim 9, wherein the primitive events include one or more of motion detection, trip wire, abandoned object, moved object, moved camera.

12. The graphical user interface as recited in claim 9, further comprising a pop-up screen for setting alert parameters, wherein the parameters include at least one of defining object sizes, object motions, quantity of moving objects, elapsed times, direction of movement and tolerances.

13. The graphical user interface as recited in claim 9, wherein the relationships between primitives are selected from a list in a drop down menu and primitives are combined by graphically selecting the primitives to combine.

14. The graphical user interface as recited in claim 13, wherein the relationships includes one of SEQUENCE, AND, OR, REPEAT-UNTIL and WHILE operators and selected primitive events function as operands of the operators.

15. The graphical user interface as recited in claim 9, further comprising a display area configured to display defined composite events, the composite events including at least one of two or more primitive events, a primitive event and a composite event, two composite events, a hierarchy of events.

16. A system for monitoring events, comprising:

An event manager configured to detect events of interest in accordance with composite events defined by a user for one or more monitoring devices; and

at least one tracking engine configured to receive parsed event definitions from the event manager, to track the least one monitoring device and to report information to the event manager;

the event manager being configured to determine whether an event has been detected in accordance with all primitive events and operators in the composite events for issuing an alert in accordance with the composite events.

17. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the primitive and composite events are defined by the event manager in a formatted program file.

18. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the formatted program file is input to the tracking engine such that when an event is detected the tracking engine generates a new formatted program file which is sent to the event manager.

19. The system as recited in claim 16, further comprising a graphical user interface where the primitive and composite events and relationships therebetween are graphically input.

20. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the graphical user interface includes a control panel configured to display camera views of primitive events with set alert parameters, and display effects configured for defining the relationships between camera views of primitive events to create composite events.