Method, system, and computer program product for image segmentation in a sensor-based environment

A system, to provide efficient processing of image data representing an environment comprising a plurality of items available for selection by one or more persons, the system comprising:

• one or more computer processors;
• a plurality of visual sensors distributed throughout the environment;
• a memory containing program code which, when executed by the one or more computer processors, performs an operation comprising:
• receiving image data from a visual sensor of the plurality of visual sensors;
• segmenting the image data into a plurality of image segments, wherein each image segment of the plurality of image segments comprises associated discrete parts of the image data stored as the image segment in a memory device;
• classifying a first image segment of the plurality of image segments into a first image category of a plurality of predefined image categories, wherein the first image category has a predefined association with one or more items of the plurality of items or one or more persons, wherein the first image segment comprises associated discrete parts of the image data stored in the memory device as the first image segment and wherein the stored image data of the first image segment comprises image data associated with the first image category;
• identifying at least one image processing task, wherein the at least one image processing task comprises a predefined association with the first image category and a predefined association with a location of the visual sensor, wherein different image categories of the plurality of predefined image categories are associated with different image processing tasks;
• and
• executing the identified image processing task on the first image segment, wherein the image processing task processes only the image data associated with the first image segment.

A computer program product for a method to provide efficient processing of image data representing an environment comprising a plurality of items available for selection by one or more persons, the environment comprising a plurality of visual sensors distributed throughout the environment, the computer program product comprising:

• a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied therewith, the computer-readable program code executable by one or more computer processors to perform an operation that includes:
• receiving image data from a visual sensor of the plurality of visual sensors;
• segmenting the image data into a plurality of image segments, wherein each image segment of the plurality of image segments comprises associated discrete parts of the image data stored as the image segment in a memory device;
• classifying a first image segment of the plurality of image segments into a first image category of a plurality of predefined image categories, wherein the first image category has a predefined association with one or more items of the plurality of items or one or more persons, wherein the first image segment comprises associated discrete parts of the image data stored in the memory device as the first image segment and wherein the stored image data of the first image segment comprises image data associated with the first image category;
• identifying at least one image processing task, wherein the at least one image processing task comprises a predefined association with the first image category and a predefined association with a location of the visual sensor, wherein different image categories of the plurality of predefined image categories are associated with different image processing tasks;
• and
• executing the identified image processing task on the first image segment, wherein the image processing task processes only the image data associated with the first image segment.