Terrain map summary elements

• US 20060290706A1
• Filed: 06/21/2006
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CheckVideo, LLC (Kastle Systems International LLC)
• Original Assignee: Cernium Corporation (Kastle Systems International LLC)
• Inventors: Garoutte, Maurice V., Chounard, Jesse J. II
• Granted Patent: US 7,822,224 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/582
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20016 Hierarchical, coarse-to-fine, multiscale or multiresolution image processing; Pyramid transform
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/41 based on statistical description of texture
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/00 Scenes; Scene-specific elements control of digital cameras H04N23/60
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/12 Relief maps relief models G09B25/06

Abstract

Method and system for image data analysis, by making use of a Terrain Map Summary Element (TMSE) data structure, in which a Terrain Map data structure provides processed primitive data about each 2×2 kernel of pixels from an original image. The new TMSE is a hierarchical multiple-level or tiered structure of such Terrain Map elements, in which each successive Terrain Map level summarizes, for example, 16 lower level elements or member. By providing such a hierarchical nature of the map elements, richness is enhanced by each higher element because every element of each successively higher level map summarizes the data from elements of the lower level map. For example, in a five-level Terrain Map Summary Element structure according to the disclosure, each element or member of the fifth level contains information summarizing data about 256K pixels.

Claims

1. A method for analysis of image data for subject content, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) performing at least one pass through a frame of said image data; and

(b) generating a base Terrain Map from said pass through said frame of said image data, said base Terrain Map comprising a plurality of base data members that indicate the content of said image data;

(c) generating at least one upper tier Terrain Map Summary hierarchically removed from said Terrain Map, said upper tier Terrain Map Summary comprising a plurality of members based upon or indicating the content of said base data members.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising successively generating above the tier of paragraph (c), one above the other, each containing a plurality of members indicating the content of data members of the tier immediately below it.

3. A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein successively generating tiers provides a Hex Tree Terrain Map structure constituting a five-level Hex Tree Terrain Map in which every member of each successively higher level Terrain Map summarizes the data from predetermined members of a next lower level Terrain Map.

4. A method as set forth in claim 3 wherein the data elements represent information derived from the original image, but not the image itself.

5. A method as set forth in claim 4 wherein original image data is that of a video image, the method being used for analysis of such video image, successive video images, or frames of video images, and comprising making at least one pass through a frame of such video data to derive members derived from the content of the original video image data as according to specific members thereof.

6. A method as set forth in claim 5 wherein said at least one pass provides a first level Terrain Map wherein said members thereof are selected from the group consisting of

6.01 an average altitude parameter;

6.02 a degree of slope parameter;

6.03 a direction of slope parameter;

6.04 a horizontal smoothness parameter;

6.05 a vertical smoothness parameter; and

6.06 a jaggyness parameter.

7. A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein elements of the tiers hierarchically removed from the Terrain Map are selected from the group of elements having names and functional descriptions and consisting of

7.01 AverageAltitude:

The average of the AverageAltitude elements of all subordinate Terrain Map elements.

7.02 Flatness;

A measure of the consistency of the altitudes of the underlying level one map elements. If all included level one map elements have the same AverageAltitude, then Flatness is full scale 200.

7.03 ComAltitude;

The most frequently occurring altitude of the subordinate Terrain Map elements.

7.04 AvgDegreeOfSlope;

The average of the DegreeOfSlope of all subordinate Terrain Map elements above a given threshold.

7.05 ComDegreeOfSlope;

The most frequently occurring DegreeOfSlope of all subordinate Terrain Map elements above a given threshold.

7.06 DegreeOfSlopeRegularity;

A measure of the consistency of the DegreeOfSlope of the underlying elements.

7.07 PercentWithSlope;

The percent of DegreeOfSlope members above a given threshold.

7.08 PercentVerSlope;

The percent of slopes above a given threshold that are vertical.

7.09 PercentHorSlope;

The percent of slopes above a given threshold that are horizontal.

7.10 PercentAmbSlope;

The percent of slopes above a given threshold that are ambiguous.

7.11 AvgHorSmoothness;

The average of the HorzontalSmoothness of all subordinate Terrain Map elements.

7.12 ComHorSmoothness;

The most frequently occurring HorzontalSmoothness of all subordinate Terrain Map elements.

7.13 HorRegularity;

A measure of the consistency of the HorizontalSmoothness of the underlying level one map elements. If all included level one map elements have the same HorzontalSmoothness, then HorRegularity is full scale 200.

7.14 AvgVerSmoothness;

The average of the VerticalSmoothness of all subordinate Terrain Map elements.

7.15 ComVerSmoothness;

The most frequently occurring VerticalSmoothness of all subordinate Terrain Map elements.

7.16 VerRegularity;

A measure of the consistency of the VerticalSmoothness of the underlying level one map elements. If all included level one map elements have the same VerticalSmoothness, then VerRegularity is full scale 200.

7.17 AvgJaggyness;

The average of the Jaggyness of all subordinate Terrain Map elements.

7.18 JagRegularity;

A measure of the consistency of the Jaggyness of the underlying level one map elements. If all included level one map elements have the same Jaggyness, then JagRegularity is full scale 200.

7.19 AvgDegOfColor;

The average of the DegreeOfColor of all subordinate Terrain Map elements.

7.20 ComDegOfColor;

The most frequently occurring DegreeOfColor of all subordinate Terrain Map elements.

7.21 DegColorRegularity;

A measure of the consistency of the DegreeOfColor of the underlying level one map elements. If all included level one map elements have the same DegreeOfColor, then DegColorRegularity is full scale 200.

7.22 PercentGreen;

Percent of DirectionOfColor elements close to Green. (330, 30?)

7.23 PercentCyan;

Percent of DirectionOfColor between blue and Green. (31,100?)

7.24 PercentBlue;

Percent of DirectionOfColor elements close to Blue. (101, 160?)

7.25 PercentMagenta;

Percent of DirectionOfColor elements between Blue and Red.(161,220?)

7.26 PercentRed;

Percent of DirectionOfColor elements close to Red. (221,300?)

7.27 PercentYellow;

Percent of DirectionOfColor elements between Red and Green. (301,329?)

7.28 CommonDirColor;

The most frequently occurring DirectionOfColor of all subordinate Terrain Map elements.

7.29 DirColorRegularity;

A measure of the consistency of the DirectionOfColor of the underlying level-one map elements. If all included level one map elements have the same DirectionOfColor, then DirColorRegularity is full scale 200.

7.30 AvgAltDiff;

Average of the AltDiff elements of the subordinate Terrain Map elements. (Altitude difference from foreground to background)

7.31 ComAltDiff;

The most frequently occurring AltDiff of all subordinate Terrain Map elements.

7.32 AltDiffRegularity;

A measure of the consistency of the AltDiff of the underlying level one map elements. If all included level one map elements have the same AltDiff, then AltDiff Regularity is full scale 200.

7.33 LevelVerSmoothness;

VerticalSmoothness of this level from the same calculation as the level one map except use the AverageAltitudes of the next lower map level.

7.34 LevelHorSmoothness;

HorizontalSmoothness of this level from the same calculation as the level one map except use the AverageAltitudes of the next lower map level.

7.35 LevelDegreeOfSlope;

DegreeOfSlope as calculated from a 4×

4 kernel of pixels for the level one Map except calculated from the 4×

4 kernel of Map elements from the level below; and

7.36 LevelDirectionSlope;

DirectionOfSlope as calculated from a 4×

4 kernel of pixels for the level one Map except calculated from the 4×

4 kernel of Map elements from the level below.

where the member names are conveniently or arbitrarily chosen by way of example.

8. A system of analysis of original image data for subject content, said system comprising:

(a) a base Terrain Map generated from at least one pass through a frame of said image data, said base Terrain Map comprising a plurality of base data members that indicate the content of said image data; and

(b) at least one upper tier Terrain Map Summary hierarchically removed from said Terrain Map, said upper tier Terrain Map Summary generated to contain a plurality of data members based upon or indicating the content of said base data members,

9. A system as set forth in claim 8 wherein said at least one upper tier Terrain Map Summary comprises one of a succession of tiers above said Terrain Map wherein the members of each tier are those of a respective set of members indicating the content of data elements of the tier immediately below it, and thereby richly indicative of the original data.

10. A system as set forth in claim 9 wherein the succession of tiers provide, together with said Terrain Map, a five-tier Hex Tree Terrain Map Summary Element structure in which every element of each successively higher level Terrain Map Summary tier summarizes the data from predetermined members of a next lower Terrain Map Summary tier.

11. A system as set forth in claim 10 wherein said Terrain Map comprising a plurality of primitives in the form of image parameters that indicate the content of said original image data, said parameters comprising an average altitude parameter;

a degree of slope parameter;

a direction of slope parameter;

a horizontal smoothness parameter;

a vertical smoothness parameter; and

a jaggyness parameter.

12. A data analysis Terrain Map Summary Elements structure comprising

a base Terrain Map data structure generated from at least one pass through a frame of original image data,

said base Terrain Map comprising a plurality of base data members that indicate the content of said image data;

and a set of tiered Terrain Map Summary levels hierarchically successively removed from the first said Terrain Map,

said upper levels being generated, each level having a plurality of members, and

wherein the members of each level indicate the content of members of the level immediately below it, being thereby richly indicative of the original data.