Image surveillance and reporting technology

• US 8,675,066 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2010
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Trundle, Stephen Scott, McCarthy, Robert J. Jr., Martin, Jean-Paul, Slavin, Alison Jane, Hutz, David James
• Primary Examiner(s): Ustaris, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ren, Zhubing
• Application Number:
  US12/893,162
• Publication Number:
  US 20110102588A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/196 using television cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19613 Recognition of a predetermined image pattern or behaviour pattern indicating theft or intrusion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19634 Electrical details of the system, e.g. component blocks for carrying out specific functions
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19639 Details of the system layout
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1966 Wireless systems, other than telephone systems, used to communicate with a camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/008 Alarm setting and unsetting, i.e. arming or disarming of the security system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/14 Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/046 prevention of tampering with detection circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source
• 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

Image surveillance and reporting technology, in which an event that is indicative of potential physical activity within an area corresponding to a location of a camera unit is detected. In response to detection of the event, the camera unit is controlled to capture one or more images of the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit. The one or more images captured by the camera unit are analyzed to determine whether the one or more images include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit. The one or more images are handled based on the determination of whether the one or more images include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit.

Claims

1. A monitoring system comprising:

a camera unit configured to capture images of an area corresponding to a location of the camera unit;

a remote monitoring server that is located remote from the camera unit and that is configured to process image data captured by camera units associated with multiple, different customers of a monitoring company;

a gateway that is configured to communicate with the camera unit using a short range wireless protocol and that is configured to communicate, over a network, with the remote monitoring server; and

at least one processor of the camera unit configured to perform operations comprising;

detecting an event that is indicative of potential physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit;

in response to detection of the event that is indicative of potential physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit, controlling the camera unit to capture one or more images of the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit;

analyzing the one or more images captured by the camera unit to determine whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit;

transmitting, from the camera unit to the gateway, the one or more images captured by the camera unit based on a determination that the one or more images captured by the camera unit include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit; and

discarding the one or more images captured by the camera unit based on a determination that the one or more images captured by the camera unit do not include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit,

wherein the gateway is separate from the camera unit and configured to perform operations comprising;

in response to receipt of the one or more images captured by the camera unit, accessing one or more security system rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit are transmitted from the gateway to the remote monitoring server based on one or more events sensed by a security system that monitors a property associated with the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit, the security system including sensors that are separate from the camera unit and that are configured to sense events related to security of the monitored property and the one or more security system rules defining security system event information that indicates activity in the property that confirms the potential physical activity that resulted in the camera unit capturing the one or more images;

comparing one or more security system events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules that define security system event information that indicates activity in the property that confirms the potential physical activity that resulted in the camera unit capturing the one or more images, the one or more security system events occurring after the camera unit captured the one or more images and being different than the event indicative of potential physical activity that resulted in the camera unit capturing the one or more images;

based on the comparison of the one or more security system events to the one or more security system rules, determining whether to transmit, from the gateway to the remote monitoring server, the one or more images that were captured by the camera unit in response to the event indicative of potential physical activity; and

based on a determination to transmit the one or more images captured by the camera unit from the gateway to the remote monitoring server, transmitting, from the gateway to the remote monitoring server, the one or more images captured by the camera unit.

2. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor includes a processor embedded in the camera unit.

3. The monitoring system of claim 1:

wherein the camera unit includes a motion sensor that is configured to detect motion in the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit; and

wherein detecting the event that is indicative of potential physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit comprises detecting motion in the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit based on output from the motion sensor included in the camera unit.

4. The monitoring system of claim 3:

wherein the motion sensor that is configured to detect motion in the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit comprises a passive InfraRed sensor that is configured to measure InfraRed light radiating from objects in the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit; and

wherein detecting motion in the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit based on output from the motion sensor included in the camera unit comprises detecting motion in the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit based on output from the passive InfraRed sensor.

5. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein analyzing the one or more images captured by the camera unit to determine whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit comprises:

extracting a subset of image data from each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit;

comparing the extracted subset of image data from each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit to image data from a reference image captured by the camera unit;

detecting portions of each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit that have a threshold difference from a corresponding portion of the reference image; and

determining whether each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit includes image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit based on the detected portions of each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit that have a threshold difference from a corresponding portion of the reference image.

6. The monitoring system of claim 5:

wherein extracting the subset of image data from each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit comprises extracting luminance data from each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit; and

wherein comparing the extracted subset of image data from each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit to image data from a reference image captured by the camera unit comprises comparing the extracted luminance data from each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit to luminance data from a reference image captured by the camera unit.

7. The monitoring system of claim 5:

wherein detecting portions of each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit that have a threshold difference from a corresponding portion of the reference image comprises detecting pixels within each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit that have a threshold difference from a corresponding pixel within the reference image; and

wherein determining whether each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit based on the detected portions of each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit that have a threshold difference from a corresponding portion of the reference image comprises;

determining a number of pixels within each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit detected as having a threshold difference from a corresponding pixel within the reference image, and

determining whether each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit based on the determined number of pixels within each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit detected as having a threshold difference from a corresponding pixel within the reference image.

8. The monitoring system of claim 5:

wherein detecting portions of each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit that have a threshold difference from a corresponding portion of the reference image comprises detecting pixels within each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit that have a threshold difference from a corresponding pixel within the reference image; and

wherein determining whether each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit based on the detected portions of each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit that have a threshold difference from a corresponding portion of the reference image comprises;

analyzing a shape of the pixels within each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit detected as having a threshold difference from a corresponding pixel within the reference image; and

determining whether each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit based on the analysis of the shape of the pixels within each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit detected as having a threshold difference from a corresponding pixel within the reference image.

9. The monitoring system of claim 5, wherein the camera unit includes an illumination sensor that is configured to sense a level of light in the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit and wherein the operations further comprise determining whether to control the camera unit to capture a new reference image based on the level of light in the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit sensed by the illumination sensor.

10. The monitoring system of claim 5, wherein comparing the extracted subset of image data from each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit to image data from the reference image captured by the camera unit comprises:

determining a time of day corresponding to capture of the one or more images captured by the camera unit;

selecting, from among multiple, different reference images that each correspond to a particular time of day, a particular reference image that corresponds to the determined time of day; and

comparing the extracted subset of image data from each of the one or more images captured by the camera unit to image data from the particular reference image that corresponds to the determined time of day.

11. A method comprising:

detecting an event that is indicative of potential physical activity within an area corresponding to a location of a camera unit configured to capture images of the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit;

in response to detection of the event that is indicative of potential physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit, controlling the camera unit to capture one or more images of the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit;

analyzing the one or more images captured by the camera unit to determine whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit;

based on a determination that the one or more images captured by the camera unit include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit, accessing one or more security system rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on one or more events sensed by a security system that monitors a property associated with the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit, the security system including sensors that are separate from the camera unit and that are configured to sense events related to security of the monitored property and the one or more security system rules defining security system event information that indicates activity in the property that confirms the potential physical activity that resulted in the camera unit capturing the one or more images;

comparing one or more security system events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules that define security system event information that indicates activity in the property that confirms the potential physical activity that resulted in the camera unit capturing the one or more images, the one or more security system events occurring after the camera unit captured the one or more images and being different than the event indicative of potential physical activity that resulted in the camera unit capturing the one or more images;

based on the comparison of the one or more security system events to the one or more security system rules, determining whether to transmit, to the remote monitoring server, the one or more images that were captured by the camera unit in response to the event indicative of potential physical activity; and

based on a determination to transmit the one or more images captured by the camera unit to the remote monitoring server, transmitting, to the remote monitoring server, the one or more images captured by the camera unit.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein accessing one or more security system rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on one or more events sensed by the security system that monitors the property associated with the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit comprises accessing a security system rule that controls the one or more images captured by the camera unit to be transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on the security system detecting an alarm event that results in a notification to a central monitoring station and that controls the one or more images captured by the camera unit to be withheld from the remote monitoring server based on the security system detecting an absence of the alarm event that results in the notification to the central monitoring station, and

wherein comparing the one or more security system events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules comprises comparing the one or more security system events to the security system rule to assess whether the one or more security system events include the alarm event.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein accessing one or more security system rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on one or more events sensed by the security system that monitors the property associated with the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit comprises accessing a security system rule that controls whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on activity detected within the monitored property by the sensors included in the security system, and

wherein comparing the one or more security system events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules comprises comparing the one or more security system events to the security system rule to assess whether activity has been detected within the monitored property after the camera unit captured the one or more images.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein accessing the security system rule that controls whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on activity detected within the monitored property by the sensors included in the security system comprises accessing a security system rule that controls whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on activity detected within the monitored property by a combination of at least one motion sensor that is separate from the camera unit and at least one door contact sensor that is separate from the camera unit and senses whether or not a door of the monitored property is in an open or closed position, and

wherein comparing the one or more security system events to the security system rule to assess whether activity has been detected within the monitored property after the camera unit captured the one or more images comprises comparing the one or more security system events to the security system rule to assess whether at least one motion sensor event and at least one door contact sensor event have been detected within the monitored property after the camera unit captured the one or more images.

16. The method of claim 11:

wherein the one or more images captured by the camera unit comprise multiple images;

wherein determining whether to transmit the one or more images comprises determining to transmit a subset of the multiple images to the remote monitoring server based on the comparison of the one or more security system events to the one or more security system rules; and

wherein transmitting, to the remote monitoring server, the one or more images captured by the camera unit comprises transmitting, to the remote monitoring server, the subset of the multiple images without one or more images from the multiple images that are outside of the subset.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

based on a determination not to transmit the one or more images captured by the camera unit to the remote monitoring server, determining whether to discard the one or more images captured by the camera unit based on application of the one or more security system rules to the one or more security system events; and

based a determination not to discard the one or more images captured by the camera unit, maintaining the one or more images captured by the camera unit in electronic storage and continuing to monitor for events sensed by the sensors included in the security system.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

accessing one or more user-defined rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on a number of images that have been transmitted to the remote monitoring server within a particular period of time; and

wherein determining whether to transmit the one or more images comprises;

determining the number of images that have been transmitted to the remote monitoring server within the particular period of time;

comparing the determined number of images that have been transmitted to the remote monitoring server within the particular period of time to the one or more user-defined rules; and

determining whether to transmit the one or more images captured by the camera unit to the remote monitoring server based on a combination of the comparison of the determined number of images that have been transmitted to the remote monitoring server within the particular period of time to the one or more user-defined rules and the comparison of the one or more security system events to the one or more security system rules.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein detecting the event that is indicative of potential physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit comprises detecting a motion event based on output from a passive InfraRed sensor that is embedded in the camera unit and that is configured to measure InfraRed light radiating from objects in the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit, the one or more security system events being sensed by one or more sensors other than the passive InfraRed sensor.

20. The method of claim 19:

wherein accessing one or more security system rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on one or more events sensed by the security system that monitors the property associated with the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit comprises accessing a security system rule that controls whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on detecting activity in a location nearby the location of the camera unit that confirms the motion event detected based on output from the passive InfraRed sensor, and

wherein comparing the one or more security system events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules comprises comparing the one or more security system events to the security system rule to assess whether activity has been detected after the camera unit captured the one or more images in the location nearby the location of the camera unit that confirms the motion event detected based on output from the passive InfraRed sensor.

12. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

detecting an event that is indicative of potential physical activity within an area corresponding to a location of a camera unit configured to capture images of the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit;

in response to detection of the event that is indicative of potential physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit, controlling the camera unit to capture one or more images of the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit;

analyzing the one or more images captured by the camera unit to determine whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit;

based on a determination that the one or more images captured by the camera unit include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit, accessing one or more security system rules that control whether the one or more images captured by the camera unit are transmitted to the remote monitoring server based on one or more events sensed by a security system that monitors a property associated with the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit, the security system including sensors that are separate from the camera unit and that are configured to sense events related to security of the monitored property and the one or more security system rules defining security system event information that indicates activity in the property that confirms the potential physical activity that resulted in the camera unit capturing the one or more images;

comparing one or more security system events sensed by the sensors included in the security system to the one or more security system rules that define security system event information that indicates activity in the property that confirms the potential physical activity that resulted in the camera unit capturing the one or more images, the one or more security system events occurring after the camera unit captured the one or more images and being different than the event indicative of potential physical activity that resulted in the camera unit capturing the one or more images;

based on the comparison of the one or more security system events to the one or more security system rules, determining whether to transmit, to the remote monitoring server, the one or more images that were captured by the camera unit in response to the event indicative of potential physical activity; and

based on a determination to transmit the one or more images captured by the camera unit to the remote monitoring server, transmitting, to the remote monitoring server, the one or more images captured by the camera unit.