Object detection system

• US 8,233,047 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2008
• Issued: 07/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Kokusai Electric Incorporated (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Kokusai Electric Incorporated (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Fujii, Miyuki, Shimbo, Naoyuki, Ikewada, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mejia, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US12/666,841
• Publication Number:
  US 20100182433A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,609 Days
• Field of Search: 348/153
• US Class Current: 348/153
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/143 Sensing or illuminating at different wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/245 by locating a pattern; Special marks for positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19643 wherein the cameras play different roles, e.g. different resolution, different camera type, master-slave camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/11 for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

A detection system that uses a plurality of input devices with different sensitive wavelengths as image and signal acquisition devices for detecting an intruding object and which performs coordinated processing on at least two or more pieces of information to avoid issuing false alarms during an intruding object detection. Based on the position or size of an object detected by processing an input from one of the input devices, an area range in which to process an input from other input devices is defined. According to one or more of processing results, a check is made as to the presence or absence of an intruding object.

Claims

1. An object detection system for detecting an object, wherein the system executes coordinated processing on detected information, the system comprising:

a first electromagnetic wave detection means; and

a second electromagnetic wave detection means,

wherein the first electromagnetic wave detection means and the second electromagnetic wave detection means have different sensitive wavelengths,

wherein the first electromagnetic wave detection means picks up a first image of an object being monitored as a two-dimensional;

image, the second electronic wave detection means picks up a second image of the object being monitored as a two-dimensional image, and the first image and the second image include essentially the same object being monitored,

wherein the second electronic wave detection means determines an area range of the object, the area range being determined from a position of the object in the second image,

wherein the second electronic wave detection means sends area information to the first electronic wave detection means, the area information including the area range and a portion of the second image included within the area range,

wherein the first electromagnetic wave detection means receives the area range information from the second electronic wave detection means, and uses the area range information to perform image processing, and

wherein, in the two-dimensional image picked up by the first electromagnetic wave detection means, image processing is performed in the area range to detect the object.

2. The object detection system according to claim 1, wherein the first electromagnetic detection means and the second electromagnetic detection means are selected from the group consisting of a visible light camera, a far-infrared camera, a millimeter wave camera, and a laser sensor.

3. The object detection system according to claim 1,

wherein the first electromagnetic wave detection means is a visible light camera and the second electromagnetic wave detection means is a far-infrared camera, the visible light camera and the far-infrared camera being arranged side by side to pick up the first image and the second image, respectively, the visible light camera and the far-infrared camera having essentially a same angle of view,

wherein each of the two-dimensional images picked up by the visible light camera and the far-infrared camera is subjected to a background image generation and update operation, a subtraction operation between the background image and the two-dimensional image, a binarization operation and a labeling operation, to recognize the object,

wherein the area range represents an area where a human or suspicious object being carried by the human is expected to be and is determined so as to surround a figure of the human, and

wherein, in the two-dimensional image taken by the visible light camera, the object recognition operation is performed again within the area range, and if an object is recognized, it is decided that the recognized object is the human or the suspicious object to be detected.

4. The object detection system according to claim 3, wherein the object recognition operation performed in the area range is an operation that involves masking a binary image of the two-dimensional image picked up by the visible light camera with the image of the object recognized in the two-dimensional image picked up by the far-infrared camera to obtain a binary image and deciding from the newly obtained binary image that an object not picked up by the far-infrared camera is the suspicious object to be detected.

5. The object detection system according to claim 3, wherein, after the object in the area range has been determined to be the suspicious object to be detected, if the object is detected outside the current area range, the object is decided to be an object abandoned by the human.