Tamper-resistant video surveillance network

• US 8,723,952 B1
• Filed: 04/19/2010
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Leonid Rozenboim
• Original Assignee: Leonid Rozenboim
• Inventors: Rozenboim, Leonid
• Primary Examiner(s): Ashraf, Waseem
• Assistant Examiner(s): Henry, Marie Georges
• Application Number:
  US12/762,933
• Time in Patent Office: 1,485 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 386/241
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19669 Event triggers storage or change of storage policy
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91307 by adding a copy protection signal to the video signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21805 enabling multiple viewpoints, e.g. using a plurality of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23116 involving data replication, e.g. over plural servers synchronization of replicated data G06F11/1658; error detection or correction by means of data replication G06F11/2053; replication in distributed file systems G06F16/10; replication in distributed file systems G06F16/27; replication or mirroring of data in data networks H04L67/1095
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2747 Remote storage of video programs received via the downstream path, e.g. from the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/78 using magnetic recording H04N5/91 takes precedence ; mechanical details in so far as non typical for television circuitry G11B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A network of surveillance digital video cameras is provided. Each camera records video data and provides the video recordings to other networked cameras as well as to a central video storage. The instantly created plurality of copies of surveillance video recordings adds a great degree of difficulty for attempts to eliminate all of the individual camera'"'"'s recordings during a security breach. Each networked camera is equipped with its own integrated storage device capable of holding several hours of recorded video footage. The networked cameras can exchange copies video data and store it locally on integrated storages.

Claims

1. A surveillance video system, the system comprising:

a lens;

a CPU connected to a network interface;

an image processor connected to the CPU;

an image sensor located behind the lens and coupled to the image processor;

a solid-state data storage device accessible by the CPU; and

a power supply unit,

wherein the lens, the CPU, the network interface, the image sensor and the solid-state data storage are integrated into a single assembly, and

wherein;

the image processor acquires a continuous stream of images from the image sensor;

the image processor processes the images and provides the images to the CPU;

the CPU receives the images from the image processor and stores the images, together with their timestamps, onto the solid-state data storage, and

wherein the CPU receives images via the network interface from peer cameras connected over a network, and stores the images, together with their timestamps, on the solid-state data storage,

wherein the CPU sends replicas of the images from the image processor to the peer cameras,

such that each peer camera acts simultaneously as a server and as a client,

wherein the received images are stored as part of the file system of each camera,

wherein the stream of images is recoverable from multiple cameras;

wherein the stream of images is split into time segments and each time segment is assigned with a security signature.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the solid-state data storage is NAND flash array.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the image processor performs image enhancement and compression.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a system bus used to communicate between the solid-state storage, the CPU and the image processor.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the CPU receives the images from the image processor and sends them to other cameras via the network interface.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the CPU receives the images from the image processor and sends them to a central storage via the network interface.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the CPU receives the images from the other cameras and sends them to a central storage.

8. A surveillance video network, the network comprising:

a plurality video cameras connected into a network, each video camera incorporating an integrated bi-directional network interface;

a central video storage,

wherein;

each camera acquires timestamped video data and stores it locally onto an integrated solid-state data storage;

each camera sends a copy of the video data to the central video storage;

each camera provides a replica of the timestamped video data to at least one peer-camera connected to the camera, wherein each peer-camera stores the copy of the timestamped video data locally onto its integrated solid-state data storage,

such that each camera acts simultaneously as a server and as a client,

wherein the received images are stored as part of the file system of each camera, and

wherein the stream of images is recoverable from multiple cameras;

wherein the stream of images is split into time segments and each time segments is assigned with a security signature.

9. The video network of claim 8, wherein each camera has a network interface.

10. The video network of claim 8, wherein the integrated solid-state data storage is NAND flash array.

11. The video network of claim 8, wherein each camera performs compression of the video data prior to transmitting it.

12. The video network of claim 8, wherein only node cameras are connected to the central storage.

13. The video network of claim 12, wherein sub-node cameras provide the video data to the node cameras.

14. The video network of claim 13, wherein the sub-node cameras store partial video data received from the node cameras.

15. The video network of claim 13, wherein at least some of the cameras have multiple lenses covering different views, but the lenses of the same camera sharing the same CPU, memory and network interface hardware.

16. A surveillance video system, the system comprising:

a lens;

a CPU connected to a network interface;

an image processor connected to the CPU;

an image sensor located behind the lens and coupled to the image processor; and

a magnetic data storage device accessible by the CPU,

wherein the lens, the CPU, the image processor, the image sensor, the network interface and the magnetic storage device are integrated into a single assembly, and

wherein;

the image processor acquires a continuous stream of images from the image sensor;

the image processor processes the images and provides the images to the CPU, together with their timestamps;

the CPU receives images from the image processor and stores the images onto the magnetic data storage,

wherein the CPU receives images, together with their timestamps, via the network interface from peer cameras connected over a network, and stores the images on the solid-state data storage,

wherein the CPU sends replicas of the images from the image processor to the peer cameras,

such that each peer camera acts simultaneously as a server and as a client,

wherein the received images are stored as part of the file system of each camera,

wherein the stream of images is recoverable from multiple cameras;

wherein the stream of images is split into time segments and each time segments is assigned with a security signature.