Optical monitoring of vehicle interiors

A movable vehicle adapted to retain cargo and thereby move the cargo from one place to another, comprising:

• a structure defining an interior space of the movable vehicle for containing one or more inanimate objects constituting the cargo of the movable vehicle, said structure being a cargo container, a railroad car, a truck trailer, a ship having a hold in which the cargo is retained or an airplane having a cargo area in which the cargo is retained;
• an arrangement mounted on said structure and within said structure such that said arrangement moves with said structure, said arrangement monitoring said interior space defined by said structure and determining whether said interior space defined by said structure is empty, whether an inanimate object is present in said interior space defined by said structure and when an inanimate object is determined to be present, whether the inanimate object has changed its position while still being present in said interior space,
• said arrangement comprising:
• at least one optical imaging device that receives images of said interior space defined by said structure;
• and
• a processor coupled to said at least one optical imaging device and configured to determine whether said interior space defined by said structure is empty by comparing an image of said interior space that is obtained by said at least one optical imaging device to a previously obtained image of said interior space when empty and considering said interior space defined by said structure to be empty when the images are the same;
• and
• a communications system mounted on said structure and coupled to said arrangement such that said communications system moves with said structure, said communications system wirelessly transmitting from said structure, the determination that said interior space is empty,
• said processor being further configured to determine whether one or more inanimate objects are present in said interior space by comparing an image of said interior space that is obtained by said at least one optical imaging device to the previously obtained image of said interior space when empty,
• said processor being further configured to obtain, when one or more inanimate objects are determined to be present, identification information about the inanimate object or objects,
• said processor being further configured to analyze images received by said at least one optical imaging device at different times to determine changes in the presence of the inanimate objects indicative of insertion of a new object into said interior space or removal of an object from said interior space,
• said processor being further configured to analyze images received by said at least one optical imaging device at different times to determine changes in position of the same inanimate object indicative of movement of that object within said interior space,
• whereby said processor is arranged to distinguish between different inanimate objects or different arrangements of inanimate objects;
• and
• said communications system wirelessly transmitting from said structure, the determination of the presence of one or more inanimate object, the information obtained about the inanimate object or objects, the determination of changes in the presence of the inanimate objects and the determination of changes in position of the same inanimate object to a site remote and separate from the vehicle.