Method and apparatus for providing immersive surveillance

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing immersive surveillance wherein a remote security guard may monitor a scene using a variety of imagery sources that are rendered upon a model to provide a three-dimensional conceptual view of the scene. Using a view selector, the security guard may dynamically select a camera view to be displayed on his conceptual model, perform a walk through of the scene, identify moving objects and select the best view of those moving objects and so on.

1 . A surveillance system for monitoring a scene comprising:
 a plurality of cameras producing video capturing the scene;   an image processor, coupled to said plurality of cameras, for applying each of the videos to a model of the scene;   a display, coupled to the image processor, for displaying a combination of the videos and model; and   a view controller, coupled to the image processor, for selecting views of the combination to be displayed.   
   
   
       2 . The surveillance system of  claim 1  wherein the image processor further comprises:
 a three-dimensional model generator; and   an image rendering processor.   
   
   
       3 . The surveillance system of  claim 2  wherein said image processor further comprises:
 means for identifying moving objects in each of the videos;   means for producing an icon representing each of the identified moving objects;   means for inserting the icon into the combination.   
   
   
       4 . The surveillance system of  claim 3  further comprising:
 means for identifying a person as a moving object; and   means for annotating the display with a description of the person.   
   
   
       5 . A display of a monitored scene comprising:
 a three dimensional model of a scene having a plurality of video images rendered onto the three dimensional model.   
   
   
       6 . The display of  claim 5  wherein each of the video images in the plurality of video images is produced by a different camera viewing the scene from different locations. 
   
   
       7 . The display of  claim 5  further comprising icons representing moving objects identified within the plurality of video images. 
   
   
       8 . The display of  claim 5  further comprising a region displaying each of the video images as produced by a plurality of cameras. 
   
   
       9 . The display of  claim 5  wherein a viewpoint of the three dimensional model is selectable. 
   
   
       10 . The display of  claim 9  wherein the viewpoint is selected as a viewpoint of one of a plurality of cameras that produces the video images. 
   
   
       11 . The display of  claim 9  wherein the viewpoint is any location in three-dimensional space. 
   
   
       12 . The display of  claim 7  wherein the icon is annotated with text identifying the moving object. 
   
   
       13 . (canceled) 
   
   
       14 . (canceled) 
   
   
       15 . (canceled) 
   
   
       16 . (canceled) 
   
   
       17 . A method of providing surveillance of a scene comprising:
 producing a plurality of videos of a scene; producing a three dimensional model of the scene; selecting a viewpoint for the three dimensional model;   aligning the plurality of videos with the three dimensional;   rendering said plurality of videos onto the three dimensional model to form a combination view; and   displaying the combination view.   
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the selected viewpoint is a bird's eye view. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising:
 selecting a location within the combination view; and   producing a view of the scene from the selected location.   
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising:
 identifying moving objects in the videos; producing an icon representing each moving object; and inserting the icon into the combination view.   
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising: storing the combination view for replay. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 20  wherein said identifying step further comprises:
 identifying the object as a person; and annotating the combination view with text representing the identification of the person.   
   
   
       23 . A method of providing surveillance of a scene comprising:
 producing a plurality of videos of a scene;   producing an implicit 3D model of the scene;   selecting a region of a displayed video and using the 3D model to identify another video to be displayed to best produce an image of the selected region of the first video.