Systems and methods configured to enable content sharing between client terminals of a digital video management system

• US 9,344,684 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2012
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Worrill, Joshua, Laycock, Graeme
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): Burwell, Joseph R
• Application Number:
  US13/566,751
• Publication Number:
  US 20130036356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,383 Days
• Field of Search: 715/719
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

Described herein are systems and methods for managing video data. Embodiments are described by reference to a Digital Video Management (DVM) system, for example methods for facilitating collaborative incident management. In overview, a DVM system provides a user interface, which is renderable at a plurality of client terminal. This allows an operator of each client to independently view DVM content items. In some cases the user interface is provided by components delivered to the clients via a web-server arrangement. The user interface is configured thereby to allow an operator of a first client terminal to provide a request to share a specified DVM content item with the operator of a second client terminal. In response to this request, the content item is delivered to the operator of the second client terminal.

Claims

1. A method for operating a Digital Video Management (DVM) system, the method including:

providing a user interface, renderable at a plurality of client terminals, for allowing an operator of each client terminal to independently view DVM content items, wherein the DVM content items include live video data captured by one or more cameras in the DVM system;

rendering an instance of the user interface at a first client terminal, such that an operator of the first client terminal views a plurality of DVM content items, including at least one DVM content display object that displays live video data from a first specific camera, wherein the at least one DVM content display object that displays live video data from the first specific camera is configured to render video data obtained from a first camera server that is configured to make the live video data available over a network;

rendering an instance of the user interface at a second client terminal, such that an operator of the second client terminal views a plurality of DVM content items, including at least one DVM content display object that displays live video data from a second specific camera, wherein the user interface, when rendered at the second client terminal, is configured to provide a plurality of simultaneously displayed DVM content display objects, wherein each DVM content display object is configurable to display live video data from a respective camera in the DVM system, thereby to enable simultaneous real-time surveillance of multiple physical locations in respect of which the DVM system is configured to provide surveillance;

subject to interaction by the operator of the first client terminal with the at least one DVM content display object that displays live video data from the first specific camera, displaying an interface object configured to allow selection of one or more further users by the operator of the first client terminal with whom to share the live video data from the first specific camera;

receiving, subject to interaction by the operator of the first client terminal with the interface object, a selection indicative of the operator of the second client terminal, thereby to define a request to share the at least one DVM content display object that displays live video data from the first specific camera with the operator of the second client terminal; and

in response to the request, providing a signal that causes the instance of the user interface being rendered at the second client terminal to request a connection to the first camera server, such that the user interface at the second client terminal becomes configured to display, via a DVM content display object, live video data from the first specific camera, wherein prior to receiving the signal the second client terminal is not receiving live video data from the first camera server, such that the user interface at the second client terminal provides a plurality of simultaneously displayed DVM content display objects, including two or more DVM content display objects previously configured to display live video data from a respective camera in the DVM system, thereby to enable simultaneous real-time surveillance of multiple physical locations in respect of which the DVM system is configured to provide surveillance, and the DVM content display object configured to display live video data from the first specific camera, such that the second client terminal is configured to enables continued simultaneous surveillance of multiple surveillance regions including a surveillance region monitored by the first specific camera.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the signal provided to the second client terminal causes the specified live video data from the first specific camera to be displayed in a DVM content display object of the user interface at the second client terminal.

3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the instance of the user interface being rendered at the second client terminal enables the operator of the second client terminal to select one of a plurality of available display objects in which to view the live video data from the first specific camera.

4. A method according to claim 1 further comprising enabling the operator of the first client terminal to share a further DVM content item to the user interface being rendered at the second client terminal, such that the further DVM content item is displayed in an object rendered at the second client terminal, wherein the further DVM content item is a still image.

5. A method according to claim 1 further comprising enabling the operator of the first client terminal to share a further DVM content item to the user interface being rendered at the second client terminal, such that the further DVM content item is displayed in an object rendered at the second client terminal, wherein the further DVM content item is a map location image.

6. A method according to claim 1 further comprising enabling the operator of the first client terminal to share a further DVM content item to the user interface being rendered at the second client terminal, such that the further DVM content item is displayed in an object rendered at the second client terminal, wherein the further DVM content item is access card information.

7. A method according to claim 1 further comprising enabling the operator of the first client terminal to share a further DVM content item to the user interface being rendered at the second client terminal, such that the further DVM content item is displayed in an object rendered at the second client terminal, wherein the further DVM content item is video data recorded from one or more cameras in the DVM system.

8. A method according to claim 1 wherein the operator of the second terminal manually accepts or rejects the signal.

9. A method according to claim 1 wherein the operator of the second terminal selects an on-screen content display object for displaying a content item shared by the operator of the first client terminal.

10. A method according to claim 1 wherein, by way of the user interface, the operator of the first client terminal is enabled to provide a request to share a specified DVM content item with the operator of the second client terminal and the operators of one or more further client terminals.

11. A Digital Video Management (DVM) system comprising:

a first client terminal that renders an instance of a user interface, wherein the user interface is renderable at a plurality of client terminals thereby to allow the operator of each client to independently view DVM content items, wherein the DVM content items include live video data captured by one or more cameras in the DVM system, wherein the rendering at the first client terminal is configured such that an operator of the first client terminal views a plurality of DVM content items, including at least one DVM content display object that displays live video data from a first specific camera, wherein the at least one DVM content display object that displays live video data from a first specific camera is configured to render video data obtained from a first camera server that is configured to make the live video data available over a network;

a second client terminal that renders a second instance of the user interface, such that an operator of the second client terminal views a plurality of DVM content items, including at least one DVM content display object that displays live video data from a second specific camera, wherein the user interface, when rendered at the second client terminal, is configured to provide a plurality of simultaneously displayed DVM content display objects, wherein each DVM content display object is configurable to display live video data from a respective camera in the DVM system, thereby to enable simultaneous real-time surveillance of multiple physical locations in respect of which the DVM system is configured to provide surveillance;

wherein the first client terminal is configured such that, subject to interaction by the operator of the first client terminal with at least one DVM content display object that displays live video data from the first specific camera, an interface object is displayed, the interface object being configured to allow selection of one or more further users by the operator of the first client terminal with whom to share the live video data from the first specific camera;

wherein the first client terminal is configured to receive, subject to interaction by the operator of the first client terminal with the interface object, a selection indicative of the operator of the second client terminal, thereby to define a request to share the at least one DVM content display object that displays live video data from the first specific camera with the operator of the second client terminal; and

wherein the second client terminal is configured to, in response to the request, cause the instance of the user interface being rendered at the second client terminal to request a connection to the first camera server, such that the second client terminal becomes configured to display, via a DVM content display object, live video data from the first specific camera, wherein prior to receiving the signal the second client terminal is not receiving live video data from the first camera server, such that the user interface of the second client terminal provides a plurality of simultaneously displayed DVM content display objects, including two or more DVM content display objects previously configured to display live video data from a respective camera in the DVM system, thereby to enable simultaneous real-time surveillance of multiple physical locations in respect of which the DVM system is configured to provide surveillance, and the DVM content display object configured to display live video data from the first specific camera, such that the second client terminal is configured to enables continued simultaneous surveillance of multiple surveillance regions including a surveillance region monitored by the first specific camera.

12. A DVM system according to claim 11 including:

a plurality of camera servers, wherein each camera server is configured to utilize video data from an assigned one or more video streaming units; and

a plurality of video streaming units, wherein each streaming unit is configured to stream, onto a network, video data for a respective camera.

13. A system according to claim 12 wherein the instance of the user interface being rendered at the second client terminal enables the operator of the second client terminal to select one of a plurality of available display objects in which to view the live video data from the first specific camera.

14. A system according to claim 11 wherein the operator of the second terminal selects an on-screen content display object for displaying the live video data from the first specific camera.

15. A system according to claim 11 wherein, by way of the user interface, the operator of the first client terminal is enabled to provide a request to share a specified DVM content item with the operator of the second client terminal and the operators of one or more further client terminals.

16. A tangible non-transitory carrier medium carrying computer executable code that, when executed via one or more processes, allows performance of a method comprising:

providing a user interface, renderable at a plurality of client terminals, for allowing an operator of each client to independently view Digital Video Management (DVM) system content items, wherein the DVM system content items include live video data captured by one or more cameras in the DVM system;

by way of the user interface, allowing an operator of a first client terminal to provide a request to share live video data from a specific camera with the operator of a second client terminal, wherein the live video data from the is obtained by the first client terminal from a first camera server that is configured to make the live video data available over a network;

in response to the received request, providing a signal to the second client terminal such that the second client terminal requests a connection to the first camera server, thereby to begin obtaining the live video data from the first camera server, such that the live video data from the specific camera is made available for viewing via the user interface at the second client terminal; and

wherein prior to receiving the signal the second client terminal is;

(i) not receiving live video data from the first camera server; and

(ii) configured to provide a plurality of simultaneously displayed DVM content display objects, wherein each DVM content display object is configurable to display live video data from a respective camera in the DVM system, thereby to enable simultaneous real-time surveillance of multiple physical locations in respect of which the DVM system is configured to provide surveillance; and

wherein subsequent to receiving the signal the second client terminal is configured to provide a plurality of simultaneously displayed DVM content display objects, including two or more DVM content display objects previously configured to display live video data from a respective camera in the DVM system, thereby to enable simultaneous real-time surveillance of multiple physical locations in respect of which the DVM system is configured to provide surveillance, and the DVM content display object configured to display live video data from the first specific camera, such that the second client terminal is configured to enable continued simultaneous surveillance of multiple surveillance regions including a surveillance region monitored by the first specific camera.

17. A carrier medium according to claim 16 wherein the signal provided to the second client terminal causes the live video data from the specific camera to be displayed in a content display object of the user interface at the second client terminal.

18. A carrier medium according to claim 16 wherein the operator of the second terminal selects an on-screen content display object for displaying the specified content item.