Stay duration measurement method and system for measuring moving objects in a surveillance area

• US 10,185,965 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2014
• Issued: 01/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Yuichi, Yoshio, Hiroaki, Gouda, Youichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Mansfield, Thomas L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Holzmacher, Derick J
• Application Number:
  US14/496,051
• Publication Number:
  US 20150095107A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,580 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69

Abstract

A stay duration measurement device for measuring a stay duration in a measurement area for each moving object, includes: a movement line obtaining unit that obtains a movement line of each moving object detected from images including the measurement area; a movement line assessment unit that determines whether the movement line obtained by the movement line obtaining unit includes a missing part in the measurement area; and a stay duration obtaining unit that, in a case where it is determined by the movement line assessment unit that the movement line of a moving object of interest includes a missing part in the measurement area, obtains a stay duration compensated for the missing part based on a time period(s) required for movement(s) of one or more other moving objects in the measurement area.

Claims

1. A stay duration measurement device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions,

wherein the processor, when executing the instructions stored in the memory, performs operations comprising;

obtaining a movement line of each moving object of a plurality of moving objects detected from images including a measurement area;

determining whether the obtained movement line of a moving object of interest of the plurality of moving objects includes a missing part in the measurement area; and

obtaining, when it is determined that the movement line of the moving object of interest includes a missing part in the measurement area, a stay duration of the moving object of interest in the measurement area, by compensating for the missing part based on at least one time period required for movement in the measurement area by at least one moving object of the plurality of moving objects other than the moving object of interest,

wherein, in the determining, the movement line is determined as including a missing part in the measurement area, when the movement line crosses only one or none of a measurement start line and a measurement end line defined on a boundary of the measurement area in the images,

wherein the processor, when executing instructions stored in the memory, further performs operations comprising;

cumulatively storing, in a memory, stay durations obtained for the plurality of moving objects,

performing temporal statistical processing on the stay durations obtained for the plurality of moving objects and cumulatively stored in the memory, to generate statistical information; and

outputting information including the statistical information.

2. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the processor, when executing the instructions stored in the memory, further performs operations comprising:

collecting time periods required for movements of the plurality of moving objects in the measurement area, and

generating a learning model in which compensation times are set such that a compensation time for a missing part in a movement line is determined based on a position of the missing part,

wherein, according to the learning model, a compensation time for the moving object of interest is obtained based on the position of the missing part in the movement line of the moving object of interest, and the stay duration for the moving object of interest is obtained by compensating for the missing part by use of the obtained compensation time.

3. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 2, wherein:

it is determined whether the movement line of the moving object of interest is an appearing pattern, in which the movement line starts within the measurement area;

a learning model for the appearing pattern is generated in which time periods required to move from entry into the measurement area to multiple positions in the measurement area are set as the compensation times; and

in response to determining that the movement line of the moving object of interest is the appearing pattern, according to the learning model for the appearing pattern, the compensation time for the moving object of interest is obtained based on a start position of the movement line of the moving object of interest.

4. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 2, wherein:

it is determined whether the movement line of the moving object of interest is a disappearing pattern, in which a movement line ends within the measurement area;

a learning model for the disappearing pattern is generated in which time periods required to move from multiple positions in the measurement area to exit from the measurement area are set as the compensation times; and

in response to determining that the movement line of the moving object of interest is the disappearing pattern, according to the learning model for the disappearing pattern, the compensation time for the moving object of interest is obtained based on an end position of the movement line of the moving object of interest.

5. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 2, wherein:

the measurement area is divided into a plurality of division areas;

the time periods required for movements of the plurality of moving objects in the measurement area are collected on the basis of the plurality of division areas and the learning model is generated such that a compensation time is set for each division area; and

according to the learning model, the compensation time for the moving object of interest is obtained based on a position of at least one division area in which the missing part is present.

6. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 2, wherein:

a learning model is generated for each time slot; and

the compensation time for the moving object of interest is obtained according to the learning model for a time slot in which the moving object of interest was detected.

7. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the stay duration of the moving object of interest whose movement line is determined to include a missing part in the measurement area is replaced with a stay duration of a moving object of the plurality of moving objects other than the moving object of interest, whose movement line is determined not to include a missing part in the measurement area.

8. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 7, wherein the stay duration of the moving object of interest whose movement line is determined to include a missing part in the measurement area is replaced with a stay duration of a moving object which, of at least one moving object of the plurality of moving objects other than the moving object of interest, whose movement line is determined not to include a missing part in the measurement area, is temporally closest to the moving object of interest whose movement line is determined to include a missing part.

9. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 1, wherein output information relating to a display image is generated, the display image including at least one image representing the statistical information superimposed on an image including the measurement area, and the display image is displayed on a monitor.

10. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 9, wherein, in the display image, a magnitude of a numerical value of the statistical information is expressed by at least one of a size, tint and darkness of the at least one image representing the statistical information.

11. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 1, wherein:

stay durations for multiple unit times are obtained as the statistical information based on the stay durations obtained for the plurality of moving objects; and

output information is generated in which the stay durations for the multiple unit times are arranged in chronological order.

12. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 1, wherein:

a difference between sets of statistical information obtained under different conditions is obtained; and

output information including the difference between the sets of statistical information is generated.

13. The stay duration measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the statistical information includes, in addition to the stay durations, a number of moving objects staying in the measurement area simultaneously.

14. A stay duration measurement system comprising:

a camera that captures images of a region including a measurement area; and

a plurality of processors,

wherein the plurality of processors jointly performs operations comprising;

detecting a plurality of moving objects from the images captured by the camera and outputting detection position information of the plurality of moving objects;

obtaining a movement line of each moving object of the plurality of moving objects based on the detection position information;

determining whether the obtained movement line of a moving object of interest of the plurality of moving objects includes a missing part in the measurement area; and

obtaining, when it is determined that the movement line of the moving object of interest includes a missing part in the measurement area, a stay duration of the moving object of interest in the measurement area, by compensating for the missing part based on at least one time period required for movement in the measurement area by at least one moving object of the plurality of moving objects other than the moving object of interest,

wherein, in the determining, the movement line is determined as including a missing part in the measurement area, when the movement line crosses only one or none of a measurement start line and a measurement end line defined on a boundary of the measurement area in the images,

wherein the plurality of processors further jointly performs operations comprising;

cumulatively storing, in a memory, stay durations obtained for the plurality of moving objects,

performing temporal statistical processing on the stay durations obtained for the plurality of moving objects and cumulatively stored in the memory, to generate statistical information; and

outputting information including the statistical information.

15. A stay duration measurement method comprising:

obtaining a movement line of each moving object of a plurality of moving objects detected from images including a measurement area;

determining whether the obtained movement line of a moving object of interest of the plurality of moving objects includes a missing part in the measurement area; and

in response to determining that the movement line of the moving object of interest includes a missing part in the measurement area, obtaining a stay duration of the moving object of interest in the measurement area, by compensating for the missing part based on at least one time period required for movement in the measurement area by at least one moving object of the plurality of moving objects other than the moving object of interest,

wherein, in the determining, the movement line is determined as including a missing part in the measurement area, when the movement line crosses only one or none of a measurement start line and a measurement end line defined on a boundary of the measurement area in the images,

wherein at least one of the obtaining a movement line, the determining whether the movement line includes a missing part in the measurement area, and the obtaining a stay duration is performed by a processor,

wherein the method further comprising;

cumulatively storing, in a memory, stay durations obtained for the plurality of moving objects,

performing temporal statistical processing on the stay durations obtained for the plurality of moving objects and cumulatively stored in the memory, to generate statistical information; and

outputting information including the statistical information.