Selective high-resolution video monitoring in a materials handling facility

Abstract

A video-based monitoring system may dynamically adjust the resolution or frame rate of video cameras in a materials handling facility in response to changing conditions or events. The resolution or frame rate may be increased when an agent authorized to handle high-value items (e.g., expensive items or those at high risk of being stolen) enters the field of view of a given camera in the facility. The system (or a video camera thereof) may detect the presence of the authorized agent by detecting that his clothing or equipment includes a color or pattern designating such authorization using analytics applied to a video stream captured by the camera. Other pre-defined conditions or events indicating that higher-resolution video monitoring is warranted may trigger an increase in the resolution or frame rate of a camera. The resolution or frame rate may be decreased when these conditions or events no longer apply.

1 .- 24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . A system, comprising:
 one or more video cameras located in a materials handling facility; and   a control system configured to communicate with the one or more video cameras;   wherein the control system is further configured to:
 analyze a video stream that was captured by a particular one of the one or more video cameras using an initial resolution and frame rate, wherein to analyze the video stream, the control system is configured to apply a color-matching or pattern-matching function to the video stream to determine whether a specific color or specific pattern associated with a specific category of items is visible in the video stream; 
 determine, dependent on the analysis, whether one or more items belonging to the specific category of items are being handled in a portion of the materials handling facility that is in a field of view of the particular one of the one or more video cameras; and 
 initiate an increase in the resolution or frame rate at which the particular video camera captures video streams in response to determining that one or more items in the specific category of items are being handled in the portion of the materials handling facility that is in the field of view of the particular video camera. 
   
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein to determine whether one or more items belonging to the specific category of items are being handled in the portion of the materials facility that is in the field of view of the particular video camera, the control system is configured to:
 detect, in the video stream, the presence of an agent wearing an article of clothing or other wearable object having a color or pattern that has been designated as indicating an authorization to handle items of the specific category of items, or a device or a piece of equipment being used by an agent in the portion of the materials handling facility having or being tagged with a color or pattern that has been designated as indicating an authorization to handle items of the specific category of items.   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein to determine whether one or more items belonging to the specific category of items are being handled in the portion of the materials facility that is in the field of view of the particular video camera, the control system is configured to:
 detect, in the video stream, that a tag, wrapper, or other indicator has been added to a particular item or its packaging that comprises a color or pattern that has been designated as indicating that the particular item is included in the specific category of items.   
     
     
         28 . A method, comprising:
 performing, by one or more computers:
 analyzing video information obtained by a camera in a materials handling facility; 
 determining, dependent on said analyzing, that an item belonging to a specific category of items is present in a portion of the materials handling facility, and that a condition or event warranting high-resolution video monitoring affects the portion of the materials handling facility; and 
 initiating an increase in a resolution or frame rate at which the camera captures video information in the portion of the materials handling facility in response to said determining. 
   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the condition or event comprises a detection of movement in the portion of the materials handling facility. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the condition or event comprises the presence of an agent loitering in the portion of the materials handling facility. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 28 , further comprising:
 in response to said determining, initiating an increase in both resolution and frame rate at which the camera captures video information.   
     
     
         32 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions that when executed on one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform:
 accessing a video stream obtained by a particular video camera;   determining, dependent on the video stream, whether a pre-defined condition or event exists in a field of view of the particular video camera, wherein in a particular case said determining whether the pre-defined condition or event exists comprises determining whether or not a pre-defined visual indicator is visible in the video stream, wherein the pre-defined condition or event comprises at least one of:
 presence of the pre-defined visual indicator indicating presence of an item belonging to a specific category of items, or 
 absence of the pre-defined visual indicator when expected to be present; and 
   initiating an increase in a resolution or a frame rate at which one or more video cameras capture one or more respective video streams in response to determining that the pre-defined condition or event exists in the field of view of the particular video camera.   
     
     
         33 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 32 , wherein said initiating an increase in a resolution or frame rate at which one or more video cameras capture video streams comprises initiating an increase in the resolution or the frame rate at which the particular video camera captures video streams. 
     
     
         34 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 33 , wherein when executed on the one or more computers, the program instructions further cause the one or more computers to perform:
 determining that the pre-defined condition or event no longer exists; and   in response to determining that the pre-defined condition or event no longer exists, decreasing the resolution or the frame rate at which the particular video camera captures video streams.   
     
     
         35 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 32 , wherein said initiating the increase in the resolution or frame rate at which one or more video cameras capture video streams comprises initiating an increase in the resolution or frame rate at which one or more video cameras other than the particular video camera capture video streams, and wherein the one or more other video cameras are trained on portions of a materials handling facility that are adjacent to a portion of the materials handling facility that is in the field of view of the particular video camera. 
     
     
         36 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 32 , wherein in a different case said determining that the pre-defined condition or event exists further comprises detecting, in the video stream, a tag, wrapper, or other indicator that has been added to a particular item being handled or to its packaging indicating that the particular item is included in the specific category of items. 
     
     
         37 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 32 , wherein in a different case said determining that the pre-defined condition or event exists comprises detecting, in the video stream, an agent in a materials handling facility wearing an article of clothing or other wearable object having a color or pattern that has been designated as indicating an authorization to handle one or more items of the specific category of items, or a device or a piece of equipment being used by an agent in the materials handling facility having a color or pattern that has been designated for operations involving items of the specific category of items. 
     
     
         38 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 32 , wherein the pre-defined visual indicator comprises an agent, an item, a device or a piece of equipment having an emitter that emits visible or infrared light in a pattern designated for operations involving items of the specific category of items 
     
     
         39 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 32 , wherein in a different case said determining that the pre-defined condition or event exists comprises detecting, in the video stream, an agent performing a pre-defined movement or gesture indicating that the agent requires assistance in a portion of the materials handling facility that is in the field of view of the particular video camera. 
     
     
         40 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 32 , wherein in a different case said determining that the pre-defined condition or event exists comprises detecting, in the video stream, that an adverse environmental condition exists in the field of view of the particular video camera. 
     
     
         41 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 40 , wherein said detecting the adverse environmental condition comprises detecting the presence of fire, smoke, water, or a hazardous substance in the field of view of the particular video camera. 
     
     
         42 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 32 , wherein when executed on the one or more computers, the program instructions further cause the one or more computers to perform:
 triggering an alarm or alert indicating the pre-defined condition or event in response to determining that the pre-defined condition or event exists in the field of view of the particular video camera.   
     
     
         43 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 32 , wherein when executed on the one or more computers, the program instructions further cause the one or more computers to perform:
 initiating an increase in retention time for at least a portion of the video steam captured by the particular video camera at the increased resolution or frame rate in response to determining that the pre-defined condition or event exists in the field of view of the particular video camera.   
     
     
         44 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 32 , wherein in a different case said determining that the pre-defined condition or event exists further comprises detecting, in the video stream, a visual indicator of an alert or alarm that has been triggered.