System and method for detecting an object of interest

A system comprising:

• a plurality of receivers located at a plurality of areas and configured to receive MAC addresses of mobile communication devices located in the plurality of areas;
• and a computing device including a memory and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to:
• retrieve from a database a first set of automatically extracted object images that are associated with an area and time period indicated by a user;
• present the first set of extracted images to the user;
• receive an indication, from the user, that an object of interest is present in an object image in the first set of extracted object images, the object associated with an object signature, and the object image associated with the area and the time period indicated by the user;
• extract from the database, first set of MAC addresses of a set of mobile communication devices located in the area and time period indicated by the user for the object of interest;
• across a series of iterations:
• retrieve, from a database, a second set of extracted object images corresponding to a second area and second time period, the object images resulting from a search for the object of interest using the object signature;
• receive an indication, from the user, that the object of interest is present or is not present in the second set of extracted object images;
• extract, from the database, a second set of MAC addresses of a set of mobile communication devices located in the second area and the second time period;
• and
• filter the first set of MAC addresses by:
• if the user indication is that the object of interest is present,
• remove from the first set of MAC addresses, MAC addresses that are not present in the second set of MAC addresses;
• and;
• if the user indication is that the object of interest is not present, remove from the first set of MAC addresses, MAC addresses that are present in the second set of MAC addresses;
• the filtered set of MAC addresses being used in a next iteration, if any, as the first set of MAC addresses;
• iterating until a single MAC address object of interest remains in the first set of the MAC addresses;
• and
• associate the MAC address with the object of interest.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a controller, cause a computer to perform a method of detecting an object of interest in a video, the method comprising:

• retrieving, by the controller, from a database, a first set of automatically extracted object images that are associated with an area and time period indicated by a user;
• presenting the first set of extracted object images to the user;
• receiving, by the controller, an indication, from the user, that an object of interest is present in an object image in the first set of extracted object images, the object associated with an object signature, and the object image associated with the area and the time period indicated by the user;
• extracting, by the controller, from the database, a first set of MAC addresses of a set of mobile communication devices located in the area and time period indicated by the user for the object of interest;
• across a series of iterations:
• retrieving, by the controller, from a database, a second set of extracted object images corresponding to a second area and second time period, the object images resulting from a search for the object of interest using the object signature;
• receiving, by the controller, an indication, from the user, that the object of interest is present or is not present in the second set of extracted object images;
• extracting, by the controller, from the database, a second set of MAC addresses of a set of mobile communication devices located in the second area and the second time period;
• and
• filtering the first set of MAC addresses by:
• if the user indication is that the object of interest is present, removing, by the controller, from the first set of MAC addresses, MAC addresses that are not present in the second set of MAC addresses;
• and
• if the user indication is that the object of interest is not present, removing, by the controller, from the first set of MAC addresses, MAC addresses that are present in the second set of MAC addresses;
• the filtered set of MAC addresses being used in a next iteration, if any, as the first set of MAC addresses;
• iterating until a single MAC address object of interest remains in the first set of the MAC addresses;
• associating, by the controller, the MAC address with the object of interest;
• and
• mapping received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value sets to points in a field of view of a camera and using the mapping to present a path traveled by the object of interest based on a signal generated by an associated mobile communication device.