Method and apparatus for surveillance using an image server

• US 7,124,427 B1
• Filed: 01/12/2000
• Issued: 10/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Chartoleaux KG LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Touch Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Esbensen, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): An, Shawn S.
• Application Number:
  US09/482,181
• Time in Patent Office: 2,470 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348/152, 348/17, 348/12, 348/13, 348/15, 348/222, 348/7, 348/14.03, 348/14.12, 348/14.13, 348/14.14, 348/153, 348/154, 348/155, 348/159, 348/14.01, 382/239, 382/240, 382/131, 382/132, 382/232, 709/219, 709/232, 725/109, 725/108, 725/114, 725/115, 725/117, 340/541
• US Class Current: 725/109
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19667 Details realated to data compression, encryption or encoding, e.g. resolution modes for reducing data volume to lower transmission bandwidth or memory requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for an image server surveillance system provide for as control and coordination of cameras that may be widely deployed, analyzing data from multiple cameras, making data available in such a way that it can be efficiently transmitted over a network and can be easily displayed to potentially a large number of users, and displaying and controlling image data by existing client software.

Claims

1. A method of viewing image data from a plurality of cameras comprising:

at said cameras, capturing data sets representing images;

at said cameras, periodically transmitting said data sets to a plurality of camera coordinators, a plurality of said camera coordinators each receiving data sets from multiple cameras;

at said camera coordinators, determining whether one or more of said data sets is of interest;

transmitting data sets of interest from said camera coordinators over a network to an image server, said image server not local to one or more of said cameras; and

providing said data sets from said image server for viewing by a user.

and further wherein;

said coordinators include an incident and history database from which their connected cameras can playback stored incidents;

said coordinators can connect multiple incidents, triggered at multiple cameras, into an incident sequence;

said coordinators have positional and view information about each camera and information about overlapping regions of cameras;

said coordinators perform time-stamping for data sets and/or incidents;

providing a management interface allowing a user to perform various management functions, including setting time parameters for whether incidents from particular cameras will be of interest, establishing other rules definitions;

specifying alerts regarding cameras that have not reported;

installing new software and other maintenance functions;

said coordinators performing advanced image processing tasks including image recognition or tracking a person or object identified in an image or determining that an object is coming toward or moving away from one or more of its connected cameras.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

storing one or more sequences at said image server.

3. The method according to claim 1 further wherein:

said camera coordinators include logic for performing two or more of the following on data sets from multiple of said cameras;

detecting an incident comprising one or more data sets from a camera;

resolving incidents from multiple cameras into an incident sequence;

image recognition;

logging and/or cataloging incidents according to a rules-based engine;

or

generating security alarms.

4. The method according to claim 1 further wherein:

said camera coordinators include an interface for sending control signals to one or more cameras to affect one or more camera functions.

5. The method according to claim 1 further wherein said camera functions comprise one or more selected from the group:

frequency of image capture, focus, contrast, or positioning for moveable cameras.

6. The method according to claim 1 further wherein said control signals comprise one or more selected from the group:

resend, change camera characteristics such as brightness or contrast, set the frequency for frame transmission, establish rules regarding when frames should be transmitted, or adjusting tolerance levels for determining if an alarm should be transmitted.

7. The method according to claim 1 further wherein:

said camera coordinators receive and process control data from one or more cameras.

8. The method according to claim 7 further wherein:

said control data includes one or more items selected from the group consisting of;

an indication that a camera detected a differential;

data indicating current position or focus depth of a moveable camera;

a camera identifier;

or

a time signal of a camera at a given frame capture.

9. The method according to claim 1 further wherein:

transmission of data sets from a camera to a coordinator can be occasioned by one or more of the following;

expiration of a time interval since the last transmission;

detection of a difference at a controller;

or

at the request of the coordinator.

10. The method according to claim 1 further wherein:

said coordinators determine if an incident occurred by using a logical process accounting for time of day, day of the week, nature of the pixel change detected, and data sets received from said cameras.

11. The method according to claim 1 further wherein:

said camera coordinators indicate to said server detected incidents or changes of an image that allow said server to intelligently control a view of one or more connected clients by changing the view of images displayed at the clients or by creating new windows and directing images to those new windows.

12. A surveillance system comprising:

a plurality of cameras able to capture data sets representing images;

said cameras periodically transmitting said data sets to a plurality of camera coordinators, a plurality of said camera coordinators each receiving data sets from multiple cameras;

said camera coordinators including logic modules able to determine whether one or more of said data sets is of interest based on analysis of said data sets representing images;

an image server not local to one or more of said cameras able to receive data sets of interest from said camera coordinators over a network and able to provide said data sets for viewing by a user;

data storage operationally connected to said image server for holding multiple data sets of interest for viewing by a user;

further wherein;

said system includes an incident and history database from which to playback stored incidents;

said coordinators can connect multiple incidents, triggered at multiple cameras, into an incident sequence;

said coordinators have positional and view information about each camera and information about overlapping regions of cameras;

said coordinators perform time-stamping for data sets and/or incidents;

said coordinators performing advanced image processing tasks including image recognition or tracking a person or object identified in an image or determining that an object is coming toward or moving away from one or more of its connected cameras; and

a management interface allowing a user to perform various management functions, including setting time parameters for whether incidents from particular cameras will be of interest, establishing other rules definitions;

specifying alerts regarding cameras that have not reported;

installing new software and other maintenance functions.

13. The system of claim 12 further wherein:

said camera coordinators include logic for performing two or more of the following on data sets from multiple of said cameras;

detecting an incident comprising one or more data sets from a camera;

resolving incidents from multiple cameras into an incident sequence;

image recognition;

logging and/or cataloging incidents according to a rules-based engine;

or

generating security alarms.

14. The system of claim 12 further wherein:

said camera coordinators include an interface for sending control signals to one or more cameras to affect one or more camera functions.

15. The system of claim 14 further wherein:

said camera functions comprise one or more selected from the group;

frequency of image capture, focus, contrast, or positioning for moveable cameras.

said control signals comprise one or more selected from the group;

resend, change camera characteristics such as brightness or contrast, set the frequency for frame transmission, establish rules regarding when frames should be transmitted, or adjusting tolerance levels for determining if an alarm should be transmitted.

16. The system of claim 12 further wherein:

said camera coordinators receive and process control data from one or more cameras.

17. The system of claim 12 further wherein:

said control data includes one or more items selected from the group consisting of;

an indication that a camera detected a differential;

data indicating current position or focus depth of a moveable camera;

a camera identifier;

or

a time signal of a camera at a given frame capture.

18. The system of claim 12 further wherein:

transmission of data sets from a camera to a coordinator can be occasioned by one or more of the following;

expiration of a time interval since the last transmission;

detection of a difference at a controller;

or

at the request of the coordinator.

19. The system of claim 12 further wherein:

said coordinators determine if an incident occurred by using a logical process accounting for time of day, day of the week, nature of the pixel change detected, and data sets received from said cameras.

20. The system of claim 12 further wherein:

said camera coordinators indicate to said server detected incidents or changes of an image that allow said server to intelligently control a view of one or more connected clients by changing the view of images displayed at the clients or by creating new windows and directing images to those new windows.