Method and system for identifying a liquid product in luggage or other receptacle

• US 9,194,975 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2014
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Vanderlande APC Inc (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Optosecurity Inc. (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Perron, Luc, Gudmundson, Dan, Drouin, Stephane, Poulin, Regis
• Primary Examiner(s): Tabatabai, Abolfazl
• Application Number:
  US14/496,676
• Publication Number:
  US 20150010128A1
• Time in Patent Office: 425 Days
• Field of Search: 382/103, 382/236, 378/46, 378/57, 378/90, 378/92, 378/98.6, 378/207, 348/169, 348/170, 348/171, 348/172, 726/14, 345/424
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2223/419 computed tomograph
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2223/637 liquid
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 23/046 using tomography, e.g. computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 5/22 Active interrogation, i.e. by irradiating objects or goods using external radiation sources, e.g. using gamma rays or cosmic rays
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 5/228 using stereoscopic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10116 X-ray image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30232 Surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/62 of area, perimeter, diameter or volume
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69

Abstract

A method, an apparatus and a system are provided for determining if a piece of luggage contains a liquid product comprised of a container holding a body of liquid. The piece of luggage is scanned with an X-ray scanner to generate X-ray image data conveying an image of the piece of luggage and contents thereof. The X-ray image data is processed with a computer to detect a liquid product signature in the X-ray image data and determine if a liquid product is present in the piece of luggage. A detection signal is released at an output of the computer conveying whether a liquid product was identified in the piece of luggage. The detection signal may, for example, be used in rendering a visual representation of the piece of luggage on a display device to convey information to an operator as to the presence of a liquid product in the piece of luggage.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a. receiving image data from at least one radiographic image of a receptacle, the image data being generated by scanning the receptacle with a radiation scanner;

b. processing the image data using program code executed by a computer to detect if a liquid product is present in the receptacle, the liquid product being comprised of a container holding a body of liquid, wherein processing the image data includes using the program code executed by the computer to detect a liquid product signature in the image data;

c. releasing at an output of the computer detection results obtained by processing the image data.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein processing the image data includes identifying an area of interest in the radiographic image.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, comprising:

a. processing the image data to estimate a thickness of the identified area of interest;

b. selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest as being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part by processing the estimated thickness of the identified area of interest in combination with attenuation information derived from the image data.

4. A method as defined in claim 2, comprising:

i. processing the image data to derive geometric information associated with the identified area of interest;

ii. selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on the derived geometric information.

5. A method as defined in claim 4, comprising selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on:

a. the derived geometric information; and

b. a threshold aspect ratio.

6. A method as defined in claim 4, comprising selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on:

a. the derived geometric information; and

b. a reference solidity threshold.

7. A method as defined in claim 2, comprising selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on symmetrical properties of the identified area of interest.

8. A method as defined in claim 2, comprising:

i. processing the identified area of interest to derive density information associated with the identified area of interest;

ii. selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on the derived density information.

9. A method as defined in claim 2, comprising:

(1) processing the identified area of interest to determine whether it is likely to be associated with at least one object in a set of imposter objects;

(2) selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on results obtained in (1).

10. A method as defined in claim 9, wherein the set of imposter objects includes at least one object selected from the set consisting of CDs, Shoes, books and binders.

11. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein identifying the area of interest includes:

a. deriving compensated image data at least in part by compensating the image data for an amount of object induced attenuation resulting from radiation travelling through an object in the receptacle, the object being unlikely to be part of the liquid product;

b. using the compensated image data when identifying the area of interest in the image.

12. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein identifying the area of interest includes identifying in the image conveyed by the image data a set of areas of interest.

13. A method as defined in claim 12, comprising processing at least some of the identified areas of interest according to a set of merging criterion to determine whether two or more areas of interest can be combined to form a merged area of interest.

14. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the detection results convey a location in the receptacle corresponding to the liquid product.

15. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said method comprising rendering a visual representation of the receptacle, the visual representation of the receptacle being derived at least in part based on the image data and the detection results and conveying to an operator a location in the receptacle corresponding to the liquid product.

16. A method as defined in claim 15, wherein the location in the receptacle corresponding to the liquid product is conveyed by highlighting a portion of the visual representation of the receptacle.

17. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein image data is obtained using a multi-view scanner and wherein said at least one radiographic image of the receptacle and contents includes at least:

a. a first radiographic image obtained by subjecting the receptacle to penetrating radiation in a first orientation; and

b. a second radiographic image of the receptacle, the second image being obtained by subjecting the receptacle to penetrating radiation in a second orientation.

18. A method as defined in claim 17, comprising processing the first radiographic image and the second radiographic image to derive the detection results.

19. A computer program product comprising instructions tangibly stored on one or more tangible computer readable storage media, the instructions when executed causing a programmable system including at least one programmable processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

a. receiving image data conveying at least one radiographic image of a receptacle, the image data being generated by scanning the receptacle with a radiation scanner;

b. processing the image data to detect if a liquid product is present in the receptacle, the liquid product being comprised of a container holding a body of liquid, wherein processing the image data includes detecting a liquid product signature in the image data;

c. releasing detection results obtained by processing the image data.

20. A computer program product as defined in claim 19, wherein processing the image data includes identifying an area of interest in the radiographic image.

21. A computer program product as defined in claim 20, wherein processing the image data includes:

a. processing the image data to estimate a thickness of the identified area of interest;

b. selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest as being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part by processing the estimated thickness of the identified area of interest in combination with attenuation information derived from the image data.

22. A computer program product as defined in claim 20, wherein processing the image data includes:

i. processing the image data to derive geometric information associated with the identified area of interest;

ii. selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on the derived geometric information.

23. A computer program product as defined in claim 22, wherein processing the image data includes selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on:

a. the derived geometric information; and

b. a threshold aspect ratio.

24. A computer program product as defined in claim 22, wherein processing the image data includes selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on:

a. the derived geometric information; and

b. a reference solidity threshold.

25. A computer program product as defined in claim 20, wherein processing the image data includes selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on symmetrical properties of the identified area of interest.

26. A computer program product as defined in claim 20, wherein processing the image data includes:

i. processing the identified area of interest to derive density information associated with the identified area of interest;

ii. selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on the derived density information.

27. A computer program product as defined in claim 20, wherein processing the image data includes:

(1) processing the identified area of interest to determine whether it is likely to be associated with at least one object in a set of imposter objects;

(2) selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on results obtained in (1).

28. A computer program product as defined in claim 27, wherein the set of imposter objects includes at least one object selected from the set consisting of CDs, Shoes, books and binders.

29. A computer program product as defined in claim 20, wherein identifying the area of interest includes:

a. deriving compensated image data at least in part by compensating the image data for an amount of object induced attenuation resulting from radiation travelling through an object in the receptacle, the object being unlikely to be part of the liquid product;

b. using the compensated image data when identifying the area of interest in the image.

30. A computer program product as defined in claim 20, wherein identifying the area of interest includes identifying in the image conveyed by the image data a set of areas of interest.

31. A computer program product as defined in claim 30, wherein processing the image data includes processing at least some of the identified areas of interest according to a set of merging criterion to determine whether two or more areas of interest can be combined to form a merged area of interest.

32. A computer program product as defined in claim 19, wherein the detection results convey a location in the receptacle corresponding to the liquid product.

33. A computer program product as defined in claim 19, wherein processing the image data includes rendering a visual representation of the receptacle, the visual representation of the receptacle being derived at least in part based on the image data and the detection results and conveying to an operator a location in the receptacle corresponding to the liquid product.

34. A computer program product as defined in claim 33, wherein the location in the receptacle corresponding to the liquid product is conveyed by highlighting a portion of the visual representation of the receptacle.

35. A computer program product as defined in claim 19, wherein image data is obtained using a multi-view scanner and wherein said at least one radiographic image radiographic image of the receptacle and contents includes at least:

a. a first radiographic image obtained by subjecting the receptacle to penetrating radiation in a first orientation; and

b. a second radiographic image of the receptacle, the second image being obtained by subjecting the receptacle to penetrating radiation in a second orientation.

36. A computer program product as defined in claim 35, wherein processing the image data includes processing the first radiographic image and the second radiographic image to derive the detection results.

37. An apparatus comprising:

a. an input for receiving image data conveying at least one radiographic image of a receptacle, the image data being generated by scanning the receptacle with a radiation scanner;

b. a processing unit programmed for processing the image data received at the input to detect if a liquid product is present in the receptacle, the liquid product being comprised of a container holding a body of liquid, wherein processing the image data includes detecting a liquid product signature in the image data;

c. an output for releasing detection results obtained by the processing unit.

38. A system for performing security screening, said system comprising:

a. a radiation scanner configured for scanning objects using penetrating radiation;

b. an apparatus in communication with said radiation scanner, said apparatus comprising;

i. an input for receiving image data conveying at least one radiographic image of a receptacle, the image data being generated by scanning the receptacle with the radiation scanner;

ii. a processing unit programmed for processing the image data received at the input to detect if a liquid product is present in the receptacle, the liquid product being comprised of a container holding a body of liquid, wherein processing the image data includes detecting a liquid product signature in the image data;

iii. an output for releasing detection results obtained by the processing unit;

c. a display screen in communication with the output of said apparatus for visually conveying to an operator information derived at least in part based on the detection results released by the apparatus.

39. A system as defined in claim 38, wherein processing the image data includes identifying an area of interest in the radiographic image.

40. A system as defined in claim 39, wherein processing the image data received at the input to detect if a liquid product is present in the receptacle includes:

a. processing the image data to estimate a thickness of the identified area of interest;

b. selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest as being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part by processing the estimated thickness of the identified area of interest in combination with attenuation information derived from the image data.

41. A system as defined in claim 39, wherein processing the image data received at the input to detect if a liquid product is present in the receptacle includes:

i. processing the image data to derive geometric information associated with the identified area of interest;

ii. selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on the derived geometric information.

42. A system as defined in claim 41, wherein selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product is performed at least in part based on:

a. the derived geometric information; and

b. at least one of a threshold aspect ratio and a reference solidity threshold.

43. A system as defined in claim 39, wherein processing the image data received at the input to detect if a liquid product is present in the receptacle includes:

i. processing the identified area of interest to derive density information associated with the identified area of interest;

ii. selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on the derived density information.

44. A system as defined in claim 39, wherein processing the image data received at the input to detect if a liquid product is present in the receptacle includes:

(1) processing the identified area of interest to determine whether it is likely to be associated with at least one object in a set of imposter objects;

(2) selectively disqualifying the identified area of interest for being unlikely to be associated with the liquid product at least in part based on results obtained in (1).

45. A system as defined in claim 39, wherein identifying the area of interest includes:

a. deriving compensated image data at least in part by compensating the image data for an amount of object induced attenuation resulting from radiation travelling through an object in the receptacle, the object being unlikely to be part of the liquid product;

b. using the compensated image data when identifying the area of interest in the image.

46. A system as defined in claim 38, wherein the information conveyed by the display screen includes a visual representation of the receptacle, the visual representation of the receptacle being derived at least in part based on the image data and the detection results and conveying to an operator a location in the receptacle corresponding to the liquid product.

47. A system as defined in claim 46, wherein the location in the receptacle corresponding to the liquid product is conveyed by highlighting a portion of the visual representation of the receptacle.

48. A system as defined in claim 38, wherein the radiation scanner is a multi-view scanner and wherein said at least one radiographic image of the receptacle and contents includes at least:

a. a first radiographic image obtained by subjecting the receptacle to penetrating radiation in a first orientation; and

b. a second radiographic image of the receptacle, the second image being obtained by subjecting the receptacle to penetrating radiation in a second orientation.

49. A system as defined in claim 48, wherein processing the image data includes processing the first radiographic image and the second radiographic image to derive the detection results.