METHODS AND APPARATUS TO COUNT PEOPLE IN IMAGES

• US 20150269443A1
• Filed: 06/05/2015
• Published: 09/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Srinivasan, Venugopal, Soundararajan, Padmanabhan
• Granted Patent: US 9,594,961 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30242 Counting objects in image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/16 Human faces, e.g. facial parts, sketches or expressions
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to count people in images are disclosed. An example method includes identifying, via a processor, active segments of a plurality of segments of a first frame of image data based on respective fluctuation factors; determining, via the processor, that a first one of the active segments is adjacent to or overlaps with a second one of the active segments; and providing, via the processor, a region of interest in the first frame of image data to an object detection operation, the region of interest including the first and second ones of the active segments and excluding an inactive one of the plurality of segments of the first frame.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

identifying, via a processor, active segments of a plurality of segments of a first frame of image data based on respective fluctuation factors;

determining, via the processor, that a first one of the active segments is adjacent to or overlaps with a second one of the active segments; and

providing, via the processor, a region of interest in the first frame of image data to an object detection operation, the region of interest including the first and second ones of the active segments and excluding an inactive one of the plurality of segments of the first frame.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the object detection operation does not process the inactive one of the plurality of segments of the first frame.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, further including linking the first and second ones of the active segments to form a shape.

4. A method as defined in claim 3, wherein the shape is a rectangle.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the identifying of the active segments of the first frame of image data based on the fluctuation factors includes respectively comparing the fluctuation factors to a fluctuation threshold.

6. A method as defined in claim 5, further including calculating the fluctuation threshold based on an average fluctuation of a set of pixels in the first frame of image data.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the fluctuation factors are root mean square values based on pixel intensities.

8. A tangible computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

identify active segments of a plurality of segments of a first frame of image data based on fluctuation factors;

determine that a first one of the active segments is adjacent to or overlaps with a second one of the active segments; and

provide a region of interest in the first frame of image data to an object detection operation, the region of interest including the first and second ones of the active segments and excluding an inactive one of the plurality of segments of the first frame.

9. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 8, further comprising instructions to execute the object detection operation, the object detection operation does not process the inactive one of the plurality of segments of the first frame.

10. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to link the first and second ones of the active segments to form a shape.

11. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 10, wherein the shape is a rectangle.

12. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to identify the active segments of the first frame of image data based on the fluctuation factors by comparing the fluctuation factors to a fluctuation threshold.

13. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to calculate the fluctuation threshold based on an average fluctuation of a set of pixels in the first frame of image data.

14. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the fluctuation factors are root mean square values based on pixel intensities.

15. An apparatus, comprising:

a comparator to identify active segments of a first frame of image data based on fluctuation factors;

a segment linker to;

determine that a first one of the active segments is adjacent to or overlaps with a second one of the active segments; and

define a region of interest in the first frame of image data to include the first and second ones of the active segments and exclude an inactive one of the plurality of segments of the first frame; and

a detector to perform an object detection operation on the region of interest, at least one of the comparator, the segment linker or the detector implemented via a processor.

16. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the detector is to not perform the object detection operation on the inactive one of the plurality of segments of the first frame.

17. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the segment linker is to define the region of interest in the first frame of image data by linking the first and second ones of the active segments to form a shape.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the shape is a rectangle.

19. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the comparator is to identify the active segments of the first frame of image data by comparing the fluctuation factors to a fluctuation threshold.

20. An apparatus as defined in claim 19, further including a fluctuation calculator to determine the fluctuation threshold based on an average fluctuation of a set of pixels in the first frame of image data.

21. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the fluctuation factors are root mean square values based on pixel intensities.