Object search by description

A method of image data storage and retrieval, the method comprising:

• acquiring video image data from a plurality of cameras in a plurality of locations, the acquired video image data comprising an identifier indicative of a camera of the plurality of cameras that acquired the video image data and a time stamp of when the video image data was acquired;
• detecting a plurality of objects in the acquired video image data from the plurality of cameras;
• detecting, for each detected object, object characteristics in the acquired video image data;
• obtaining, for each detected object, other object characteristics from a source other than the acquired video image data;
• aggregating, for each detected object, (i) the object characteristics detected in the acquired video image data and (ii) at least a portion of the object characteristics obtained from a source other than the acquired video image data;
• storing, in a database, each detected object, each detected object's aggregated characteristics, and each detected object's associated identifier;
• receiving search parameters and Boolean operators at a video analytics module, wherein the search parameters correspond to a user's estimate of an object's characteristics;
• querying the database for object characteristics based upon the received search parameters and Boolean operators;
• returning identifiers meeting the query based upon the received search parameters and Boolean operators;
• computing a similarity score for each returned identifier, wherein the similarity score corresponds with how closely a detected object's characteristics match the query;
• sorting the returned identifiers by similarity score;
• refining the sorted identifiers by removing identifiers that did not originate from one or more selected locations in the plurality of locations during a selected period of time;
• and
• presenting the sorted and refined identifiers as images, wherein each image displays the detected object and is linked to corresponding stored video image data of the detected object.

A system for video image data storage and retrieval, the system comprising:

• a plurality of cameras that operate to acquire video image data from a plurality of locations;
• an object detection engine that receives the acquired video image data and identifies objects and object characteristics within the video image data;
• an object database stored on a computer readable medium that stores the identified objects and object characteristics with an identification of the video image data from which the objects and object characteristics are identified;
• a user interface operable by a processor that is configured to receive search parameters and Boolean operators, wherein the search parameters correspond to a user's estimate of an object's characteristics;
• and
• a video analytics module operable by the processor to receive the search parameters and Boolean operators from the user interface and query the object database based upon the search parameters and Boolean operators, receive returned query results comprising at least one object, at least one object characteristic, and at least one identification of the video image data from which the objects and object characteristics are identified;
• wherein the returned query results are sorted in an order of a similarity scored that corresponds with how closely a detected object's characteristics matches the query;
• wherein the returned query results are relined by removing results that did not originate from one or more selected locations in the plurality of locations during a selected period of time;
• and
• wherein the sorted and refined results are presented as images that display the detected object and that are linked to corresponding stored video image data of the detected object.