System and method for counting people near external windowed doors
First Claim
1. A system for counting objects crossing an area comprising:
- a camera for capturing images along an image plane of a surface that is in the area, the surface includes a plurality of detectable features on the surface, wherein the objects to be counted cross over said surface; and
a processor for receiving said images and detecting objects associated with change occurring in said images, and counting one of said detected objects at least in accordance with said one of said detected objects having a shape that indicates the detected object is to be counted if the one of said detected objects at least substantially blocks a portion said plurality of detectable features in one of said images associated with the detected object.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for counting objects, such as people, is provided having a camera (22) for capturing video images along an image plane (25) in which two-dimensional shapes or design (28) are spaced along the image plane (25), and a computer system (14, 22) for receiving the images and detecting objects associated with change occurring in the images, and counting one of the detected objects when of the detected objects approximates a shape (31) associated with the object being counted (e.g., ellipse shape, to count a person) that fully or substantially blocks a portion said two-dimensional shapes or design (28) in the image associated with the detected object, and the detected object meeting other criteria for the object, such as size or compactness of detected change within the object. The system is especially useful for counting people near external windowed doors (19) of a building entranceway doors by discriminating between spurious light crossing the image plane and people.
28 Citations
28 Claims
-
1. A system for counting objects crossing an area comprising:
-
a camera for capturing images along an image plane of a surface that is in the area, the surface includes a plurality of detectable features on the surface, wherein the objects to be counted cross over said surface; and a processor for receiving said images and detecting objects associated with change occurring in said images, and counting one of said detected objects at least in accordance with said one of said detected objects having a shape that indicates the detected object is to be counted if the one of said detected objects at least substantially blocks a portion said plurality of detectable features in one of said images associated with the detected object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 24, 25, 26, 27)
-
-
11. A method for counting objects comprising the steps of:
-
capturing images along an image plane of a surface that objects to be counted cross over, said surface including a plurality of detectable features on the surface; detecting an object in one of said captured images associated with detected change along said image plane in said one of said captured images; determining whether said detected object represents an object of interest when the detected object approximates a shape that indicates the object is to be counted if the detected object at least substantially blocks a portion of said plurality of detectable features in said one of said captured images; and counting the detected object in accordance with one or more characteristics of the detected object responsive to determining that the detected object is an object of interest that at least substantially blocks a portion of said plurality of detectable features. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28)
-
Specification