Monitoring apparatus, filter calibration method, and filter calibration program

• US 8,159,538 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2007
• Issued: 04/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Konishi, Tetsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nano, Sargon
• Application Number:
  US11/780,953
• Publication Number:
  US 20080024609A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,733 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348/152, 348/153, 348/154, 348/155, 348/159
• US Class Current: 348/159
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/635 Region indicators; Field of view indicators
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8715 involving the mixing of the reproduced video signal with a non-recorded signal, e.g. a text signal

Abstract

A monitoring apparatus includes a filter setting unit configured to store filter setting information for analyzing the video data, a filtering unit configured to determine whether the video data satisfies a filter condition of a filter stored in the filter setting unit and, when the video data satisfies the filter condition, perform filtering in which the number of detected objects is counted and output, and a filter calibrating unit configured to perform filter calibration in which at least one virtual filter is arranged with respect to a predetermined filter or a newly set filter, filtering is performed using the predetermined filter or the newly set filter and the virtual filter, a mode of values obtained as results of the filtering is calculated, and when the mode is determined to be equal to or approximate to a true value, the virtual filter is stored as a primary filter.

Claims

1. A monitoring system comprising:

a monitoring image pickup apparatus configured to capture and output video data;

a filter setting unit configured to store filter setting information for analyzing the video data;

a filtering unit configured to determine whether the video data satisfies a filter condition of a filter stored in the filter setting unit and, when the video data satisfies the filter condition, perform filtering in which the number of objects detected from the video data is counted and the result of the counting is output; and

a filter calibrating unit configured to perform filter calibration in which at least one virtual filter is arranged with respect to a predetermined filter read from the filter setting unit or a newly set filter, filtering is performed by the filtering unit using the predetermined filter read from the filter setting unit or the newly set filter and the virtual filter, a mode of values obtained as results of the filtering is calculated, and when the mode is determined to be equal to or approximate to a true value to be obtained as the result of the filtering, the true value having been obtained beforehand, the virtual filter is stored in the filter setting unit as a primary filter.

2. The monitoring system of claim 1,

wherein the predetermined filter is set for metadata indicating information relating to an object to be monitored, the metadata being output together with the video data by the monitoring image pickup apparatus.

3. The monitoring system of claim 1,

wherein the virtual filter is arranged at a position to allow filtering using the predetermined filter read from the filter setting unit or the newly set filter to more closely approximate the true value.

4. The monitoring system of claim 3,

wherein the setting of the virtual filter by the filter calibrating unit is repeated by changing a setting position of the virtual filter, until the mode is determined to be equal to or approximate to the true value.

7. The monitoring system of claim 1,

wherein the at least one virtual filter is complementarily set around the predetermined filter or the newly set filter.

8. The monitoring system of claim 1,

wherein the mode is determined to be equal to the true value.

5. A filter calibration method for calibrating a filter used for filtering in which video data is acquired from a monitoring image pickup apparatus and the number of objects detected from the video data is counted and output, the method comprising the steps of:

storing filter setting information;

setting at least one virtual filter with respect to a predetermined filter read from among filters corresponding to the stored filter setting information or a newly set filter; and

performing filtering using the predetermined filter or the newly set filter and the virtual filter, calculating a mode of values obtained as results of the filtering, and storing the virtual filter as a primary filter when the mode is determined to be equal to or approximate to a true value to be obtained as the result of the filtering, the true value having been obtained beforehand.

9. The filter calibration method of claim 5,

wherein the filtering is set for metadata indicating information relating to an object to be monitored, the metadata being output together with the video data by the monitoring image pickup apparatus.

10. The filter calibration method of claim 5,

wherein the virtual filter is arranged at a position to allow filtering using the predetermined filter or the newly set filter to more closely approximate the true value.

11. The filter calibration method of claim 5,

wherein the setting of the virtual filter is repeated by changing a setting position of the virtual filter, until the mode is determined to be equal to or approximate to the true value.

12. The filter calibration method of claim 5,

wherein the at least one virtual filter is complementarily set around the predetermined filter or the newly set filter.

13. The filter calibration method of claim 5,

wherein the mode is determined to be equal to the true value.

6. A non-transitory computer readable medium, having stored thereon a filter calibration program for calibrating a filter used for filtering in which video data is acquired from a monitoring image pickup apparatus and the number of objects detected from the video data is counted and output, the program comprising the steps of:

storing filter setting information;

setting at least one virtual filter with respect to a predetermined filter read from among filters corresponding to the stored filter setting information or a newly set filter; and

performing filtering using the predetermined filter or the newly set filter and the virtual filter, calculating a mode of values obtained as results of the filtering, and storing the virtual filter as a primary filter when the mode is determined to be equal to or approximate to a true value to be obtained as the result of the filtering, the true value having been obtained beforehand.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6,

wherein the filtering is set for metadata indicating information relating to an object to be monitored, the metadata being output together with the video data by the monitoring image pickup apparatus.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6,

wherein the virtual filter is arranged at a position to allow filtering using the predetermined filter or the newly set filter to more closely approximate the true value.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6,

wherein the setting of the virtual filter is repeated by changing a setting position of the virtual filter, until the mode is determined to be equal to or approximate to the true value.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6,

wherein the at least one virtual filter is complementarily set around the predetermined filter or the newly set filter.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6,

wherein the mode is determined to be equal to the true value.