System for automated screening of security cameras

• US 8,345,923 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2009
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CheckVideo, LLC (Kastle Systems International LLC)
• Original Assignee: Cernium Corporation (Kastle Systems International LLC)
• Inventors: Garoutte, Maurice V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Duy M
• Application Number:
  US12/625,719
• Publication Number:
  US 20100074472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,133 Days
• Field of Search: 382/103, 382/104, 382/107, 382/115, 382/236, 348/143, 348/148, 348/149, 348/152, 348/155, 348/169
• US Class Current: 382/103
• 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: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

The present invention involves a system for automatically screening closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras for large and small scale security systems, as used for example in parking garages. The system includes six primary software elements, each of which performs a unique function within the operation of the security system to provide intelligent camera selection for operators, resulting in a marked decrease of operator fatigue in a CCTV system. Real-time image analysis of video data is performed wherein a single pass of a video frame produces a terrain map which contains parameters indicating the content of the video. Based on the parameters of the terrain map, the system is able to make decisions about which camera an operator should view based on the presence and activity of vehicles and pedestrians, furthermore, discriminating vehicle traffic from pedestrian traffic. The system is compatible with existing CCTV (closed circuit television) systems and is comprised of modular elements to facilitate integration and upgrades.

Claims

1. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

receive a plurality of pixel values, each pixel value from the plurality of pixel values being associated with a pixel within a portion of a frame of a video image;

using the plurality of pixel values, generate at least one parameter used to segregate a background image of the video image from a moving target of the video image; and

analyze the moving target using the at least one parameter to determine whether the moving target is a vehicle or a pedestrian by comparing (1) a characteristic movement of a pedestrian with a movement of the moving target and (2) a characteristic movement of a vehicle with the movement of the moving target.

2. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter includes a jaggyness parameter that indicates an offset in pixels between a plurality of odd fields of the moving target and a plurality of even fields of the moving target.

3. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter includes a jaggyness parameter that indicates an offset in pixels between a plurality of odd fields of the moving target and a plurality of even fields of the moving target, the jaggyness parameter being used to determine a speed and a direction at which the moving target is moving.

4. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

determine a consistency of change in a horizontal direction of the plurality of pixel values.

5. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

determine a consistency of change in a vertical direction of the plurality of pixel values.

6. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

determine an event associated with the moving target.

7. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to analyze includes code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to compare a percentage of an area of a first portion of a bounding rectangle occupied by the moving target with a percentage of an area of a second portion of the bounding rectangle occupied by the moving target to determine if the moving target includes a head.

8. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to analyze includes code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to analyze the moving target using the at least one parameter and a ratio of a width of the moving target to a height of the moving target to determine whether the moving target is a vehicle or a pedestrian.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

an analysis worker implemented in at least one of a memory or a processing device, the analysis worker configured to receive a plurality of pixel values, each pixel value from the plurality of pixel values being associated with a pixel within a portion of a frame of a video image, the analysis worker configured to filter a background image of the video image from a moving target of the video image, the analysis worker configured to compare (1) a characteristic movement of a pedestrian with a movement of the moving target and (2) a characteristic movement of a vehicle with the movement of the moving target to determine that the moving target is a pedestrian, the movement of the moving target being more similar to the characteristic movement of a pedestrian than the characteristic movement of a vehicle.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the analysis worker is configured to determine a consistency of change in a horizontal direction of the plurality of pixel values.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the analysis worker is configured to determine a consistency of change in a vertical direction of the plurality of pixel values.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the analysis worker is configured to determine an event associated with the moving target.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the analysis worker is configured to generate a jaggyness parameter that indicates an offset in pixels between a plurality of odd fields of the moving target and a plurality of even fields of the moving target, the analysis worker configured to determine a speed and a direction at which the moving target is moving based on the jaggyness parameter.

14. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

receive a plurality of pixel values, each pixel value from the plurality of pixel values being associated with a pixel within a portion of a frame of a video image;

generate a first parameter based on a consistency of change in a horizontal direction of the plurality of pixel values;

generate a second parameter based on a consistency of change in a vertical direction of the plurality of pixel values; and

analyze, using at least the first parameter and the second parameter, a moving target within the portion of the frame of the video image to determine whether the moving target is a vehicle or a pedestrian.

15. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to analyze includes code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to compare a characteristic movement of a pedestrian with a movement of the moving target and to compare a characteristic movement of a vehicle with the movement of the moving target.

16. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 14, the code further comprising code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to:

generate a third parameter that indicates an offset in pixels between a plurality of odd fields of the moving target and a plurality of even fields of the moving target; and

determine a speed and a direction at which the moving target is moving based on the third parameter.

17. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to analyze includes code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to compare a percentage of an area of a first portion of a bounding rectangle occupied by the moving target with a percentage of an area of a second portion of the bounding rectangle occupied by the moving target to determine if the moving target includes a head.

18. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to analyze includes code representing instructions configured to cause a processor to analyze the moving target using the first parameter, the second parameter and a ratio of a width of the moving target to a height of the moving target to determine whether the moving target is a vehicle or a pedestrian.