Moving object detector and image monitoring system

An image monitoring system including a moving image decoding unit for receiving a coded stream obtained by encoding an image generated with a camera by way of a transmission path and for decoding the coded stream, and a monitor for displaying the decoded image obtained by said moving image decoding unit, said system comprising:

• a moving object detector including an effective macroblock identification unit for identifying one or more candidates for a macroblock that can be contained in an on-screen moving object as one or more effective macroblocks by using an encoding parameter, and a moving object determination unit for determining whether or not each of the one or more effective macroblocks identified by said effective macroblock identification unit is contained in a moving object based on a number of effective macroblocks which are directly adjacent to each of the one or more effective macroblocks or indirectly adjacent to each of the one or more effective macroblocks via one or more other effective macroblocks.

An image monitoring system including a camera for generating an image of a monitor point, and a moving image encoding unit for encoding the image generated by said camera and for outputting the encoded image as a coded stream, said system comprising:

• a moving object detector including an effective macroblock identification unit for identifying one or more candidates for a macroblock that can be contained in an on-screen moving object as one or more effective macroblocks by using an encoding parameter;
• and a moving object determination unit for determining whether or not each of the one or more effective macroblocks identified by said effective macroblock identification unit is contained in a moving object based on a number of effective macroblocks which are directly adjacent to each of the one or more effective macroblocks or indirectly adjacent to each of the one or more effective macroblocks via one or more other effective macroblocks,
• wherein when said moving object detector detects a moving object, said moving object detector transmits a warning signal by way of a transmission path.