Motion-validating remote monitoring system
OwnerJohn R. Gornick, Craig B. Moksnesinventors
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Abstract
A method of autonomously monitoring a remote site, including the steps of locating a primary detector at a site to be monitored; creating one or more geospatial maps of the site using an overhead image of the site; calibrating the primary detector to the geospatial map using a detector-specific model; detecting an object in motion at the site; tracking the moving object on the geospatial map; and alerting a user to the presence of motion at the site. In addition thermal image data from a infrared cameras, rather than optical/visual image data, is used to create detector-specific models and geospatial maps in substantially the same way that optical cameras and optical image data would be used.
Claims12
A method of autonomously tracking an object in motion at a remote site, including:
- providing a first detector for a site to be monitored, wherein the first detector is adapted to capture terrain data of a first portion of the site;
- defining a three-dimensional (3D) terrain model modeling substantially all terrain of the site, the 3D terrain model associating 3D coordinates with geospatial locations of the site;
- detecting a change in a portion of the terrain of the first portion of the site based on the terrain data captured by the first detector by evaluating one or more dynamically-updated pixels;
- determining that the change in the portion of the terrain corresponds to an object in motion;
- determining a first location of the object in motion as defined by a first set of 3D coordinates of the 3D terrain model;
- determining an expected second location of the object in motion defined by a second set of 3D coordinates;
- directing the first detector to change the set of detector parameters in preparation for detection of the object in motion at the expected second location, prior to the arrival of the object in motion, thereby causing the object in motion to remain within a field of detection of the first detector;
- causing the first detector to detect the object in motion at the expected second location, thereby seamlessly tracking the object in motion within the 3D terrain model.
A method of validating motion at a remote site, comprising:
- capturing a series of images of a portion of a remote site using a detector, wherein the series of images includes background and current pixel data;
- updating the background pixel data if one of the captured remote site images comprises pixel data having an individual pixel characteristic within an acceptable range;
- comparing the background and current pixel data to identify regions of interest, wherein the regions of interest define a pre-validated location of an object in motion;
- validating the regions of interest, wherein validating the regions of interest includes projecting the regions of interest to a scaled, three-dimensional (3D) terrain model and defining the location of the regions of interest in 3D geospatial coordinates corresponding to the 3D terrain model.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.