Method and data processing device for recording camera image data on an edge server

Abstract

A method for recording camera image data on an edge server comprises the steps of recording a scene by a movie camera and generating camera image data representing the scene by the movie camera, and transmitting the camera image data to the edge server. However, in the data transmission path from the cinematic camera to the edge server, a buffer storage device comprising a non-volatile data memory is arranged between the cinematic camera and the edge server, in which camera image data is first written to the data memory of the buffer storage device and then written to the data memory of the edge server. The camera image data written to the data storage is then transmitted from the buffer storage device to the edge server.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The invention relates to a method for recording camera image data on an edge server, wherein a scene is recorded by a movie camera and camera image data representing the scene is generated by the movie camera. The camera image data is further transmitted to an edge server.

[0002] Furthermore, the invention relates to a data processing device for processing camera image data, which is generated by a movie camera during a movie recording and represents a recorded scene, wherein the data processing device comprises an edge server, which is configured to receive the camera image data and to forward the received camera image data to a system arranged downstream. BACKGROUND

[0003] In principle, during a movie recording, for example in an image recording studio, a scene can be recorded by a movie camera to generate camera image data representing the recorded scene. The generated camera image data must then be stored, however, in view of the data quantities that have currently been reached, in particular during professional movie recordings, a pure local storage on the movie camera is ruled out and the camera image data must be transmitted to a separate storage medium. Furthermore, it can be necessary to transmit the camera image data to suitable devices for subsequent processing.

[0004] The movie camera can therefore be connected via a local connection, for example a cable connection or a local WLAN / WiFi connection, to an edge server to which the camera image data is transmitted in order to permanently store the camera image data and, if necessary, to transmit the data to a system arranged downstream for further processing. In particular, the edge server can form a local connection point for the movie camera for this purpose in order to transmit the camera image data generated by the movie camera to, for example, a cloud-based server architecture and to be able to use the storage and / or computing power of this server architecture during further storage and processing of the camera image data. Furthermore, the processing of the received data can also already take place on the edge server.

[0005] However, particularly in the course of the continuous further development of movie cameras, the problem arises that the amount of data that has to be generated and transmitted to the edge server is becoming increasingly large, so that a conventional edge server can no longer reliably meet the requirement of transmitting such a large amount of data in real time at least in the long term. However, a timeout or dropout in the reception of the camera image data can lead to a loss of camera image data, for example, since the movie camera continuously generates further camera image data during the recording, so that the generated camera image data has to be processed in real time.

[0006] In this respect, existing structures can at most record the camera image data generated during the film recording at an edge server with limited data rates, so that existing structures can at least in the long term no longer meet the requirements. Alternatively, the camera image data can already be compressed before being transmitted to the edge server, however, in which, in particular, the entire camera image data generated by the film camera, and in particular the entire image data representing the scene, can be desired without prior processing or compression, so that such compression is also not taken into account for many applications. SUMMARY

[0007] It is therefore an object of the present application to provide a method and a data processing device which enable reliable recording of camera image data at an edge server with high data rates.

[0008] This object is achieved by a method according to independent claim 1.

[0009] In this method, a buffer storage device comprising a non-volatile data storage is arranged between the film camera and the edge server in the data transmission path from the film camera to the edge server, and the camera image data is first written into the data storage of the buffer storage device, wherein the camera image data written into the data storage is then transmitted from the buffer storage device to the edge server.

[0010] The edge server can generally be a normal computer, a server or a high-performance personal computer located in the vicinity of the film camera. For example, the edge server can thus be connected to the film camera via a wired connection or via a local radio connection, such as a local WiFi connection or a local WLAN connection. In this respect, the edge server is in particular distinguished from servers or computers located remotely from the film camera, to which the film camera is connected indirectly, for example, only via the Internet, and which can form a cloud architecture, for example. In particular, the edge server can thus form a direct local connection point for the film camera without the need to set up further servers or computers between the film camera and the edge server. The edge server can thus be provided as a first computer or server which receives the camera image data of the film camera in order to then forward the received camera image data to further local or external, such as cloud-based, computers or storage modules.

[0011] However, in contrast to conventional approaches for recording camera image data, the camera image data is not directly transmitted to the edge server, but a buffer storage device comprising a non-volatile data storage is arranged in the data transmission path from the film camera to the edge server between the film camera and the edge server, and the camera image data is first written to the data storage of the buffer storage device and only then transmitted from the data storage of the buffer storage device to the edge server.

[0012] While other processes such as forwarding the camera image data to systems arranged downstream and / or any image editing processes can typically be run on the edge server in addition to receiving and storing the camera image data, the buffer storage device can be particularly adapted and optimized for receiving and storing the camera image data such that the camera image data can also be written in real time to the non-volatile data storage of the buffer storage device at high data rates without timeouts or exits due to requirements of other processing processes expected. However, since the camera image data is eventually to be transmitted to the edge server in order to be able to be received and / or forwarded by the edge server, in particular as a connection point of a server architecture arranged downstream, the camera image data initially written in real time to the data storage of the buffer storage device is then transmitted by the buffer storage device to the edge server. This can typically be done by the buffer storage device reading out the camera image data from the data storage and transmitting this data to the edge server, or by the edge server directly reading the data storage of the buffer storage device such that the edge server can have read access to the camera image data stored in the data storage.

[0013] For example, such a process can enable the camera image data to be written in real time to the data storage of the buffer storage device during the film recording such that, for example, only during a subsequent recording interruption, the camera image data stored in the data storage is transmitted to the edge server. Thus, the recording or generation of the camera image data by the buffer storage device can ultimately be decoupled in time from the actual reception of the camera image data by the edge server such that the edge server does not have to meet the requirement of receiving the camera image data in real time. Instead, a buffer storage device specifically adapted for this purpose can be used such that with regard to the transmission of the camera image data, it can be divided into a real-time system (buffer storage device) and a decoupled non-real-time system (edge server), wherein the non-real-time system takes on more complex tasks than simply receiving the camera image data.

[0014] However, it is also generally possible to provide a buffer storage device which is configured to transfer the camera image data stored in the data storage at least partially to the edge server already during the recording of the movie image and during the reception of further camera image data. This can be realized, for example, by a buffer storage device which is configured for fast write and read out, so that within a time interval in which the buffer storage device receives data packets of camera image data from the movie camera, both a write step for writing the received camera image data and a read step for read ing out camera image data already stored in the data storage can be performed.

[0015] Due to the non-volatile data storage of the buffer storage device, the camera image data stored in the data storage is generally also kept stored in the data storage for a longer time, so that further camera image data can always be written and stored in the data storage at least until the data storage is completely filled with camera image data. Thus, as explained above, it is possible, for example, to wait until after the recording is interrupted to transfer to the edge server, wherein the camera image data generated during the recording can be safely received and stored in the data storage. Unlike a data storage which is only volatile, for example a RAM (random access memory), the camera image data stored in the data storage and possibly not yet transferred to the edge server can further continue to be safely stored in the data storage if the buffer storage device and / or the edge server are disconnected from the power supply. In this respect, the buffer storage device can also directly enable the creation of a backup copy of the camera image data if, for example, the camera image data stored in the data storage is not only transferred to the edge server, but can also be retained in the data storage at least until the transfer of the camera image data is completed, for example.

[0016] The data storage can in particular be based on HDD (hybrid hard drive) technology or SSD (solid state drive) technology.

[0017] In summary, the buffer storage device is arranged in the data transmission path from the movie camera to the edge server and thus, as it were, enables a temporal decoupling between the execution of the recording on the one hand and the reception of the camera image data at the edge server on the other hand. The camera image data generated by the movie camera can be transferred to the buffer storage device in real time and written to the data storage there, while the edge server no longer needs to provide real-time capabilities for receiving the camera image data. Although the method is explained here in connection with the recording of the camera image data on the edge server, this procedure and structure with a buffer storage device is thus generally applicable to situations in which data has to be transmitted to the edge server at such a high data rate that real-time capabilities of the edge server can be a problem.

[0018] The application therefore generally also relates to a method for recording data on an edge server, comprising the following steps:

[0019] generating data; and

[0020] transmitting the data to the edge server,

[0021] wherein, in the data transmission path from the data-generating device to the edge server, a buffer storage device comprising a non-volatile data store is arranged between the data-generating device and the edge server, wherein the data is first written to the data store of the buffer storage device, the data written to the data store is then transmitted from the buffer storage to the edge server.

[0022] In principle, in this more general method, one or more of the steps explained above and below can be provided and / or one or more features of the buffer storage device and / or the edge server can be implemented.

[0023] In general, such a method can be considered for applications in which generally arbitrary sensors acquire physical data and convert this physical data into digital data at a high data rate, wherein the digital data must be recorded in real time. Such sensors, in particular as data-generating devices or as components of data-generating devices, can for example be configured as image sensors of a video camera for generating video camera image data, as already explained above for possible applications of the method disclosed herein. However, in addition thereto, in particular medical processes and possible imaging processes in medical technology can also be considered, in which data that needs to be processed or at least stored in real time can be generated at a high data rate. For example, the data-generating sensors can therefore be configured as magnetic resonance imaging sensors, lidar sensors, X-ray flat panel sensors (flat panel detectors) or computed tomography sensors. Furthermore, the respective sensors can also be used in industrial applications, for example for inspecting workpieces.

[0024] In view of the increasing use of AI (artificial intelligence), the processing of data generated by artificial intelligence is also a further application. For example, artificial intelligence can be used to simulate or evaluate complex processes, in which a large amount of data can be generated at a high data rate and must be stored without loss of data. Here, too, the method as explained above can be used, wherein the data generated by the artificial intelligence can first be stored in the data store of the buffer storage device and then only transmitted to the edge server, for example during a data generation interruption.

[0025] Further embodiments are explained in the dependent claims, the description and with reference to the drawings.

[0026] In some embodiments, camera image data can be transmitted to the edge server during an interruption of the recording of the film camera. Furthermore, in such embodiments, it can be provided in particular that camera image data is not transmitted from the buffer storage device to the edge server during the recording. As a result thereof and due to the buffer storage device being configured with non-volatile data storage, as explained above, a complete temporal decoupling between the generation of camera image data and the transmission of camera image data to the edge server can be achieved.

[0027] Furthermore, in some embodiments, camera image data transmitted to the edge server can be deleted from the data storage of the buffer storage device. Due to such a procedure, it can be achieved in particular that there is always sufficient storage capacity at the data storage for receiving further camera image data, in particular those camera image data generated when resuming the film recording after the interruption.

[0028] In some embodiments, the camera image data can comprise image data representing respective images of the scene as well as audio data and / or metadata related to the recording. The metadata can comprise in particular lens settings of a camera lens of the film camera, information about the camera position, type information about the device type of the film camera, a frame rate, an image format and / or information of an acceleration sensor connected to the film camera.

[0029] The image data can be transmitted for example in a 4K format, in particular in an UHD (ultra-high definition) format and a DCI (digital cinema initiative) format or in an 8K format, so that the image data to be transmitted can already relate to a relatively large amount of data. In particular, when the film camera has a high frame rate or a high image recording frequency, thus high data rates can be generated at the film camera, which can need to be stored accordingly. In addition to the image data, the camera can also generate audio data in order to be able to record a soundtrack during the recording of the scene.

[0030] Furthermore, more and more metadata can be generated during the recording of the film camera in order to collect additional information for subsequent image processing or postproduction. Thus, for example, information about the lens settings of a camera lens of the film camera, such as focus settings, aperture, zoom settings and / or focus width, can be transmitted in order to be able to evaluate and / or use this information subsequently.

[0031] Thus, especially in the case of professional film recording, currently already large data rates can occur, making real-time recording of the generated camera image data required in this field particularly problematic. By storing the generated camera image data in the data memory of the buffer storage device, a reliable possibility of real-time receiving and storing the camera image data is provided, even in the case of future expected data rates that are still constantly increasing, without there being a risk of losing camera image data.

[0032] In some embodiments, the camera image data can be written to the data memory of the buffer storage device at a data rate of at least 10 Gbit per second or at least 25 Gbit per second or at least 80 Gbit per second. Accordingly, the buffer storage device can be configured to reliably write the camera image data (or other data) received at such data rates in real time to the data memory. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the camera image data can be written to the data memory at a data rate of at least 100 Gbit per second.

[0033] In some embodiments, the data memory of the buffer storage device can provide a storage capacity of at least 1 TB (Terabyte).

[0034] In this regard, the data memory can be a data memory with a relatively large storage capacity, not just a small buffer memory or working memory to which a small amount of data can be written in a short time. Rather, the data memory in particular has a sufficient storage capacity in order to completely write the camera image data generated during a scene recording into the data memory in professional film recording, so that the data memory can be read out, for example, only after the end of the recording of the respective scene in order to transmit the camera image data stored in the data memory to an edge server. Accordingly, the buffer storage device can be configured to write the camera image data into the data memory during the duration of a scene recording, and the data memory can be configured to have a sufficient storage capacity in order to be able to reliably store the camera image data generated during the recording of a scene in the data memory. Thus, the storage capacity of the data memory can in particular correspond to at least one data volume generated by a film camera during the expected or specified duration of a scene or can exceed this data volume.

[0035] In some embodiments, the data memory can also have a storage capacity of at least 5 TB (Terabyte), at least 10 TB (Terabyte), at least 20 TB (Terabyte), at least 50 TB (Terabyte) or at least 100 TB (Terabyte).

[0036] In some embodiments, the buffer storage device may be mechanically coupled to the edge server. In this regard, the buffer storage device may be connected to the edge server as a separate device relative to the edge server, and may not be directly implemented as a component of the edge server, particularly a memory module. However, even in such embodiments, it is not excluded that, for example, the buffer storage device and the edge server are enclosed in a common housing.

[0037] Because the buffer storage device can be mechanically coupled to the edge server, existing edge servers or computers in the sense of this disclosure can be modified by attaching the buffer storage device to the edge server or by placing the buffer storage device in the data transmission path from the movie camera (or another device used to generate data) to the edge server. Therefore, a system including both a buffer storage device and an edge server can, in particular, be a system comprising two separate components, rather than a further modification of the edge server itself.

[0038] In some embodiments, camera image data may be transmitted to a buffer storage device via an Ethernet connection. Alternatively or additionally, camera image data may be transmitted from the buffer storage device to an edge server via PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect High Speed).

[0039] In particular, Ethernet connectivity enables the transmission of camera image data at the required data rate. Transferring camera image data from buffer storage devices to the edge server via PCI Express allows for simple, secure, and fast data transfer to the edge server.

[0040] In some embodiments, the buffer storage device may include a control device, which may include a smart network interface card, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and / or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0041] Specifically, the buffer storage device can have its own control device, which is completely independent of the edge server's control device and / or the server OS (operating system). The buffer storage device's control device can be specifically configured to write received camera image data to and / or read the data from the data storage and / or transfer the data to the edge server.

[0042] Due to the buffer storage device can have a control device, the buffer storage device can in particular be completely independent in terms of control and can be decoupled from the control device of the edge server. Thus, due to such a control device, a complete separation between the real-time system of the buffer storage device and the non-real-time system of the edge server in terms of receiving camera image data can be finally achieved. In some embodiments, the control device of the buffer storage device can also not be controlled by the control device of the edge server, so that the control device of the edge server does not have to take over any tasks with regard to writing camera image data to the data memory of the buffer storage device and / or reading out camera image data from the data memory of the buffer storage device. Thus, any timeouts of the edge server with regard to data reception, for example due to other functions to be performed or processes to be controlled, do not lead to a loss of data packets of the camera image data, since these data packets can be received by the control device of the buffer storage device and can be written to the data memory, independently of the use of the control device of the edge server. Nonetheless, a communication between the control device of the buffer storage device and the control device of the edge server can generally be provided, for example the control device of the edge server can be configured to communicate with the control device of the buffer storage device in case there is capacity for receiving camera image data and camera image data is to be transmitted. Then, the control device of the buffer storage device can start reading out camera image data and / or transmitting camera image data to the edge server.

[0043] The intelligent network interface card can in particular enable the necessary steps for receiving camera image data from the data memory and writing camera image data to the data memory to be implemented in a software-based manner at the control device of the buffer storage device. However, the FPGA and / or ASIC can alternatively or additionally also implement one or more of these functions from a hardware aspect.

[0044] Thus, the control device of the buffer storage device can in principle be configured in particular so as to be able to implement the tasks of storing received camera image data and / or reading out the data memory and / or transmitting read-out camera image data to the edge server.

[0045] In addition to ensuring real-time capacity as explained above, the configuration of the buffer storage device with a separate control device compared to the control by the operating system of the edge server can also reduce the power consumption of the system comprising the buffer storage device and the edge server and thus the energy consumption. The control device of the buffer storage device can be optimized for the reception and organization of the camera image data, in particular for writing and / or reading out camera image data to and from the data memory, and can thus also be simplified to these tasks so that these tasks can be implemented as (energy) efficient as possible. On the other hand, since the control device of the edge server is not limited to the tasks of writing and reading out camera image data to and from the data memory, the control of the buffer storage device by the control device or the operating system of the edge server will be associated with a higher energy consumption. Thus, the control device of the edge server cannot be optimized specifically for the writing and reading out of data, but rather can be said to be overdimensioned with respect to these tasks in order to be able to perform this specific task as a generally adapted control device as well. However, this overdimensioning will result in a less efficient implementation and thus a higher energy consumption.

[0046] In general, by providing a separate buffer storage device in the data transmission path, the reception and storage of the camera image data can thus be carried out in a specialized manner, whereby, as explained above, the energy requirement for this task can be reduced and at the same time a reliable reception of the camera image data in real time can be achieved.

[0047] In some embodiments, the control device can be connected to the data memory via a PCI Express. This can in particular also enable a fast data communication between the control device and the data memory.

[0048] In some embodiments, the write access to the data memory of the buffer storage device for writing camera image data to the data memory of the buffer storage device can have priority over the reading out of camera image data from the data memory of the buffer storage device for transmitting the camera image data to the edge server.

[0049] In such embodiments, it can thus be achieved that any camera image data transmitted by the film camera is always written to the data memory of the buffer storage device with a higher priority in order to avoid any loss of camera image data, while the reading out of camera image data from the data memory is delayed in comparison. Due to the configuration of the buffer storage device with a non-volatile memory, camera image data can generally be read out from the data memory over a longer period of time, so that only the writing of camera image data to the data memory has to be carried out in real time, while the reading out of camera image data from the data memory does not have to be carried out in real time. In the respective embodiments, this aspect can be taken into account by the above-mentioned priority.

[0050] In some embodiments, the camera image data can be encrypted by the buffer storage device.

[0051] For example, the control device of the buffer storage device described above can be configured to encrypt the camera image data. Alternatively or additionally, however, it can also be provided, for example, that the encryption takes place at the data memory for which purpose an ASIC chip or an FPGA, for example, can be arranged in the input / output area of the data memory. In both cases, the received camera image data can be encrypted in particular before the actual writing into the data memory. Therein, however, the camera image data can also be set to be decrypted again in particular during the readout of the camera image data and / or before the transmission of the camera image data, so that the camera image data can be transmitted to the edge server without encryption. However, the camera image data stored in the data memory of the buffer storage device can be encrypted and thus protected against unauthorized access, so that in the event of a possible theft of the data memory, the camera image data is also not easily read out.

[0052] In some embodiments, the integrity of the transmission of the camera image data to the buffer storage device and / or to the edge server can be checked. This can be done in particular by means of a cyclic redundancy check and / or a Hamming code. Alternatively or additionally, in certain embodiments, it can be provided that data packets of the camera image data which have not yet been transmitted to the buffer storage device and / or to the edge server (or which have not yet been received at the buffer storage device and / or at the edge server) are transmitted again.

[0053] In this respect, by such a procedure it can actually be ensured that all camera image data is ultimately transmitted to the edge server by checking the transmission of the camera image data again. For example, the film camera can have a buffer memory, so that it can also be possible to request the camera image data which has already been transmitted from the film camera to the buffer storage device again in order to be able to request a subsequent transmission of data packets which can not yet have been received.

[0054] In some embodiments, the camera image data can be transmitted to the edge server via two parallel data paths.

[0055] For example, this can be done via a common buffer storage device comprising two data memories or via two separate buffer storage devices. A buffer storage device comprising two data memories can for example have a single control device, for example a smart network interface card, which is configured to write the received camera image data to both data memories. In particular, due to the provision of such parallel data paths, a redundancy in the data transmission can be achieved or mirror memories can be provided to be able to ensure that all camera image data can actually be received, stored and finally transmitted to the edge server. This can thus represent an additional safety measure to avoid any data loss.

[0056] In some embodiments, the camera image data can be transmitted from the buffer storage device to the edge server, however, wherein the camera image data can be processed in the buffer storage device, in particular reduced and / or compressed. The processed camera image data can also be transmitted to an output device, in particular a monitor.

[0057] In particular, in such embodiments, the buffer storage device can thus be configured to reduce and / or compress the received camera image data in order to then transmit the processed camera image data in this way to an output device such as a monitor. This can for example enable the generated image data to be observed in real time at the monitor during recording, however, wherein the respective data transmission to the monitor is only possible due to the reduction in the amount of data to be transmitted to the monitor. This task, which has to be performed in real time, can thus also be performed by the buffer storage device, in particular its control device, without the camera image data first having to be transmitted to the edge server.

[0058] In particular, it can also be provided that the camera image data processed by the buffer storage device is not transmitted to the edge server, but that the edge server only receives the unprocessed and complete camera image data. Alternatively, however, it is also possible for the camera image data processed by the buffer storage device to also be transmitted to the edge server, in particular with a time delay or overlap to the unprocessed camera image data actually to be transmitted.

[0059] In some embodiments, the camera image data can be pre-processed and / or post-processed, in particular at the edge server, wherein in particular color correction, pixel correction and / or color processing can be performed.

[0060] In particular, such processing of the camera image data can represent an additional task of the edge server for which computing power is required, not only for receiving and storing the camera image data. For example, the execution of such a process can thus have the result that the capability for receiving camera image data at the edge server in real-time at high data rates can not be permanently available. However, as explained above, this problem can be solved by providing a buffer storage device in the data transmission path.

[0061] In principle, it can also be provided that the buffer storage device, in particular the intelligent network interface card of the buffer storage device, is configured to pre-process and / or post-process the camera image data. However, the processing performed at the buffer storage device can be a relatively simple processing in order not to impair the real-time capability of the buffer storage device with respect to receiving and writing camera image data.

[0062] In some embodiments, the camera image data can be transmitted from the edge server to a cloud-based data storage device, wherein the camera image data can in particular be post-processed at the cloud-based data storage device.

[0063] The edge server can thus be said to represent a connection point of the movie camera in order to finally transmit the generated camera image data via the edge server to a cloud-based data storage device or server architecture and to be able to use the storage and computing power provided there to store and / or process the camera image data. Such a transmission to a cloud-based data storage device can for example also take place during or after the recording of the movie camera, since the edge server is relieved of the task of receiving camera image data in real-time due to the arrangement of the buffer storage device.

[0064] In some embodiments, camera image data of at least two movie cameras can be transmitted to the edge server simultaneously, wherein the camera image data of the at least two movie cameras can be transmitted to the same buffer storage device and wherein the buffer storage device can have separate data storages for writing the camera image data of the respective movie camera. Alternatively, each movie camera can be connected to a respective associated buffer storage device and the camera image data of the respective movie camera can be written to the data storage of the associated buffer storage device.

[0065] In this regard, for the recording with at least two film cameras at the same time, it can be provided that at least one separate data memory is available for each film camera to enable the camera image data of the different film cameras to be written into the respective data memory separately from one another in real time. This can be achieved by means of a common buffer storage device, which in particular can have a control device to enable the camera image data received from the two film cameras at the same time to be distributed to the associated data memories. However, it is also generally possible for a separate buffer storage device to be provided for each film camera in order to be able to ensure the appropriate separation of the camera image data.

[0066] Thus, in the case of a film recording with two film cameras, it can in particular be provided that the camera image data generated by the respective film cameras are written into the respective associated data memories of the buffer storage device and then transmitted from the respective data memories to the edge server.

[0067] In some embodiments, the film cameras can be configured by the edge server upon connection to the edge server. In particular, the film cameras can be set for this purpose to a configuration stored previously at the edge server.

[0068] For example, the film camera and the edge server can first negotiate the configuration and / or the recording mode of the film camera upon connection of the film camera to the edge server, wherein the edge server can transmit, for example upon first connection of the film camera, a default configuration for the respective device type of the film camera stored on the edge server to the film camera. However, if the film camera has previously already been connected to the edge server, the edge server can transmit, for example, the last saved configuration of the film camera to the film camera, wherein the film camera, in particular the control device of the film camera, can be configured to set the film camera to the received configuration.

[0069] In order to be able to implement such a configuration of the film camera, it can be provided, for example, that the film camera transmits camera image data with the respective metadata of a first recorded image to the edge server, wherein the edge server can deduce therefrom the current configuration of the film camera and / or the device type of the film camera. The edge server can then retrieve, for example, a default configuration stored for this device type or the last saved configuration for the film camera in order to transmit this configuration to the film camera. As an alternative to such a negotiation of the recording mode, it can also be provided that the film camera transmits configuration data directly to the edge server upon connection to the edge server, whereupon the edge server can save these configuration data and / or can send back adapted configuration data to the film camera.

[0070] The configuration of the movie camera can for example comprise an image format, a recording frequency and / or an image resolution, so that the movie camera can start recording with the desired settings immediately after receiving the configuration. Transmitting the provided configuration to the movie camera can usually be done via the same data path as the transmission of the camera image data to the edge server, however, wherein the buffer storage device, in particular the control device of the buffer storage device, can be configured to transmit the data received from the edge server directly to the movie camera, while bypassing the data storage.

[0071] Furthermore, the current configuration of the camera can be saved at the edge server in a write mode. This can for example make it possible to save a default configuration or a desired configuration of a previously unknown device type at the edge server, so that this configuration can be transmitted immediately when the movie camera is connected to the edge server at a later time and the movie camera can be configured. This can also be done for example via the same data path as the data path for the transmission of the camera image data, but possibly omitting the data storage.

[0072] However, alternatively, transmitting the current configuration to the edge server and / or transmitting such a configuration from the edge server to the movie camera can also be done via a data connection existing directly between the movie camera and the edge server (bypassing the buffer storage device), since only a small amount of data needs to be transmitted in this respect.

[0073] The present application also relates to a data processing device for processing camera image data, the camera image data being generated by a movie camera during an electrographic recording and representing a recorded scene. The data processing device comprises an edge server configured to receive the camera image data and to forward the received camera image data to a system arranged downstream, and a buffer storage device comprising a non-volatile data storage. The buffer storage device has a data connection to the edge server and an interface for establishing a camera data connection with the movie camera, the buffer storage device being configured to write the camera image data transmitted to the interface to the data storage and to transmit the camera image data written to the data storage to the edge server.

[0074] As already explained above in connection with the method for recording camera image data, a buffer storage device is arranged in the data transmission path from the movie camera to the edge server, so that camera image data can be received in real time at a high data rate and can be reliably transmitted to the edge server by first storing the camera image data in a data memory of the buffer storage device. As explained above, the buffer storage device in particular enables a temporal decoupling between the generation of camera image data by the movie camera and the actual transmission to the edge server, so that a system with real-time capability with regard to storing camera image data can be provided by the buffer storage device, while the edge server does not have to provide such real-time capability.

[0075] In the data processing device, one or more features explained above in connection with the method or one or more steps explained in connection with the method can be implemented. Similarly, one or more features explained below in connection with the data processing device or one or more control steps explained below can also be implemented in the method described above.

[0076] Furthermore, the data memory device can in principle also be configured to receive data from a data-generating device via a data connection at the interface, to write the data into the data memory, and to transmit the data written into the data memory to an edge server via a further data connection.

[0077] As already explained above, such a data-generating device can in particular be formed by a sensor or can comprise a sensor that converts physical data into digital data. In particular, image sensors, LIDAR sensors, magnetic resonance imaging sensors, computed tomography sensors and / or X-ray flat panel sensors (flat panel detectors) can be considered. Furthermore, the data-generating device can for example comprise an AI that generates data to be stored, which can be received at the interface of the buffer storage device and can be written into the data memory of the buffer storage device.

[0078] In some embodiments, the buffer storage device can have a control device, wherein the control device can comprise an intelligent network interface card, an FPGA (field programmable gate array) and / or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

[0079] As already explained above, the control device can in particular be an autonomous control device, which can work completely independently of a server operating system of the control device or of the edge server. Thus, the control device can in particular be adapted and / or optimized for receiving and writing camera image data in real time at the required data rate.

[0080] In some embodiments, the control device can be connected to the data storage via a PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) connection. Thereby, the required fast writing of camera image data can be implemented at high data rates.

[0081] In some embodiments, the control device can be configured to write camera image data to the data storage at a data rate of at least 10 Gbit per second or at least 25 Gbit per second or at least 80 Gbit per second.

[0082] In some embodiments, the control device can also be configured to write camera image data to the data storage in preference to reading camera image data from the data storage. Thereby, as already explained above, the main function of the buffer storage device of reliably writing received camera image data can be prioritized and ensured.

[0083] In some embodiments, the data storage of the buffer storage device can provide a storage capacity of at least 1 TB (Terabyte), at least 5 TB (Terabyte), at least 10 TB (Terabyte), at least 20 TB (Terabyte), at least 50 TB (Terabyte) or at least 100 TB (Terabyte).

[0084] In some embodiments, the interface can be configured to receive camera image data from the film camera via an Ethernet connection and / or via a WLAN / WiFi connection. Alternatively or additionally, the buffer storage device can be connected to the edge server via a PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) connection. In this respect, the interface can in particular enable a flexible transfer of camera image data (or other data of the data-generating device) from the film camera, while the connection between the buffer storage device and the edge server via PCI Express can enable a fast and simple transfer of data from the buffer storage device to the edge server.

[0085] In some embodiments, the data storage of the buffer storage device can be replaceable.

[0086] Thus, in such embodiments, different data storages can be used in the buffer storage device, for example, as required, in order to be able to provide, for example, the respective required storage capacity and / or also to be able to retrofit the buffer storage device if necessary. Furthermore, for example in the case of a subsequent scene having to be recorded very quickly, the transfer of camera image data to the edge server can be postponed and a data storage that can already be completely written can be replaced in order to be able to start recording the subsequent scene immediately.

[0087] In some embodiments, the buffer storage device, in particular its control device, can be configured to delete the data stored in the data storage before replacing the data storage. This can in particular be a security measure to prevent data stored on the data storage from being stolen, since the data stored on the data storage can be deleted immediately when the data storage is removed from the buffer storage device. Alternatively or additionally, as explained above, it can also be provided that the buffer storage device is configured to encrypt the camera image data stored in the data storage and / or to be written into the data storage, so that the camera image data is not easily readable in the event of theft of the data storage.

[0088] In some embodiments, the buffer storage device can be configured to encrypt the camera image data.

[0089] As already explained above, this can in particular be implemented by the control device of the buffer storage device, but can also be implemented, for example, by an additional ASIC chip arranged at the input / output of the data storage or by an FPGA arranged at the input / output of the data storage.

[0090] In some embodiments, the buffer storage device can be configured to check the integrity of the camera image data, in particular by means of a cyclic redundancy check and / or a Hamming code. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the buffer storage device can be configured to request a further transmission of data packets of the camera image data that have not yet been transmitted to the buffer storage device and / or the edge server (or received by the buffer storage device and / or the edge server) and, in particular, to transmit a request for the data packets to the film camera via the interface.

[0091] Thus, the film camera can in particular be configured to temporarily store the data packets of the camera image data, so that these data packets can be requested further by the buffer storage device if necessary.

[0092] In some embodiments, the buffer storage device can be configured to compress and / or downscale the camera image data, and the buffer storage device can have a second interface for outputting the compressed and / or downscaled camera image data to an output device, in particular a monitor. This can make it possible to observe the image data recorded by the film camera directly at the monitor during recording, in compressed and / or downscaled form, and to check the recording of the scene without having to transmit the complete camera image data to the output device for this purpose in real time.

[0093] It can generally be provided that the buffer storage device has two physical interfaces directly in order to be able to receive the camera image data on the one hand and to output the compressed and / or downscaled camera image data on the other hand.

[0094] However, in some embodiments, also only a single physical interface can be formed at the buffer storage device, via which camera image data can be received from the camera and compressed and / or reduced camera image data can be transmitted to the output device. In such embodiments, for this purpose, a router can for example be arranged between the camera and the buffer storage device to be able to distribute camera image data from the camera to the buffer storage device and to be able to distribute compressed and / or reduced camera image data to the output device. In particular, such a configuration comprising the router and the common physical interface can be provided during the transmission of camera image data and compressed and / or reduced camera image data via an Ethernet connection, but also for example during the transmission via a WLAN / WiFi connection and possibly via PCI Express. In such embodiments, the combination of the physical interface of the buffer storage device and the respective input / output of the router can thus be understood as an interface for receiving camera image data and for transmitting compressed and / or reduced camera image data.

[0095] In some embodiments, the buffer storage device can have at least a second data memory and / or at least two buffer storage devices can be connected to the edge server.

[0096] As has already been explained above, such a second data memory, the second data memory of the buffer storage device or a further buffer storage device having its own data memory, can in particular act as a mirror memory to enable the redundant recording of camera image data and further to avoid the loss of camera image data. Furthermore, such a second data memory can enable the reception of camera image data generated by two film cameras simultaneously and the writing of this camera image data to the respective data memory in order to then transmit the camera image data to the edge server.

[0097] In principle, the second data memory can thus be connected to the edge server, so that camera image data stored in the second data memory can also be transmitted to the edge server.

[0098] In some embodiments, the edge server can be connected to a cloud-based data memory device and can be configured to transmit camera image data to the cloud-based data memory device, in particular via an Ethernet connection and / or a WLAN / WiFi connection. Alternatively or additionally, the edge server can be connected to a local data memory device and can be configured to transmit camera image data to the local data memory device, in particular via PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) and / or USB (Universal Serial Bus).

[0099] In some embodiments, the configuration of the movie camera can be stored on the edge server and the edge server can be configured to transmit the configuration to the movie camera when the movie camera is connected to the interface of the buffer storage device. As already explained above, the movie camera can thereby be configured directly via the connection to the edge server, wherein the configuration can be transmitted via the same data path as the camera image data (but in the opposite direction) or via a separate data transmission path. Furthermore, a control device of the buffer storage device, in particular a smart network interface card, can be provided which is configured to transmit the configuration of the movie camera to the movie camera while bypassing the data storage.

[0100] The application will be explained below by way of example only with reference to embodiments and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0101] Figures 1 to 3 is a schematic representation of a data processing device for recording camera image data generated by a movie camera during recording of a scene at an edge server, wherein a buffer storage device is arranged in a data transmission path from the movie camera to the edge server.

[0102] Figure 4 and Figure 5 is a schematic representation of a data processing device enabling recording of camera image data at an edge server, wherein the camera image data is generated simultaneously by two movie cameras.

[0103] Figure 6 is a schematic representation of a method for recording camera image data, in particular executed on such a data processing device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0104] Figure 1 A data processing device 11 is shown which is configured to record camera image data K at an edge server 15, which camera image data K is generated by a movie camera 13 during recording and represents a recorded scene. In this respect, the edge server 15 is positioned close to the movie camera 13 and forms a connection point for the movie camera 13 in order to ultimately transmit the camera image data K generated by the movie camera 13 to a system 17 arranged downstream, in particular a cloud-based data storage device 45 and / or two local data storage devices 47 and 48. In particular, at the cloud-based data storage device 45, processing of the received camera image data K can then take place, for example, wherein computing power available via the cloud can be used.

[0105] The movie camera 13 can in particular be a movie camera 13 adapted for professional movie recording, so that camera image data K can be generated at data rates of approximately 10 Gbit per second, 25 Gbit per second, 80 Gbit per second or 100 Gbit per second. The camera image data K can in particular comprise image data B, audio data A and metadata M representing a scene recorded by the movie camera 13. The metadata M can for example be lens settings of a lens of the movie camera 13, an image format, a frame rate, type information about a device type of the movie camera 13 and / or information of a sensor of the movie camera 13. Furthermore, the movie camera 13 has a buffer memory 43 in which the camera image data K can be buffered.

[0106] In order to be able to reliably record the camera image data K, all camera image data K has to be transmitted to the edge server 15, so that the recorded camera image data K can then be completely transmitted to the system 17 arranged downstream. However, a problem that often exists here is that the data rates generated by current movie cameras 13, in particular by movie cameras 13 to be implemented in the future, are often too high for conventional edge servers 15 to be able to ensure real-time recording of the camera image data K. This can in particular become more difficult because the camera image data K received at the edge server 15 can also be pre- or post-processed by a control device 51 of the edge server 15 or its operating system, so that various processes, in particular in addition to merely receiving and storing the camera image data K, can be carried out at the edge server 15 and can lead to a dropout or timeout with regard to the reception of the camera image data K. However, such a dropout can for example lead to the fact that data packets of the camera image data K cannot be received at the edge server 15, so that the camera image data K cannot be completely transmitted at the end. At the same time, however, the movie camera 13 can often not be configured with a buffer memory 43 that is able to record all camera image data K generated during a scene recording, given the high data rates and the large amounts of data.

[0107] In order to solve this problem, in the data processing device 11 shown, Figure 1 In the data processing device 11 shown, the buffer storage device 19 is connected to the edge server 15 via a mechanical coupling 75 and is arranged between the movie camera 13 and the edge server 15 in the data transmission path 63 from the movie camera 13 to the edge server 15. The buffer storage device 19 has a non-volatile data storage 23, which can for example be implemented as an HDD (hybrid hard disk drive) memory or an SSD (solid state drive) memory.

[0108] The arrangement of the buffer storage device 19 in the data transmission path 63 from the movie camera 13 to the edge server 15 makes it possible to first transmit the camera image data K generated by the movie camera 13 to the buffer storage device 19 and to write the camera image data K into the data memory 23, so that the camera image data K stored in the data memory 23 is then transmitted to the edge server 15. Thereby, a decoupling of the recording of the camera image data K from the storage of the camera image data K at the edge server 15 can be achieved, so that the edge server 15 does not have to provide real-time capabilities with regard to receiving the camera image data K at the required data rate. Rather, the camera image data K can initially be stored in the data memory 23 of the buffer storage device 19, for example, to be able to be transmitted to the edge server 15 only after the recording has been completed. In order to be able to store the required amount of camera image data K, the non-volatile data memory 23 can have, for example, a storage capacity of at least 1 TB (Terabyte), at least 5 TB (Terabyte), at least 10 TB (Terabyte), at least 20 TB (Terabyte), at least 50 TB (Terabyte) or at least 100 TB (Terabyte).

[0109] In order to be able to implement the explained buffering of the camera image data K at the buffer storage device 19, the buffer storage device 19 has an interface 29 at which the camera image data K can be received via a camera data connection 28, in particular a local radio connection 57, for example a WLAN / WiFi connection or an Ethernet connection. In order to be able to write the received camera image data K into the data memory, the buffer storage device 19 has a control device 31, which can in particular be a smart network interface card 33. Alternatively or additionally, an implementation of the control device 31 via FPGA and / or ASIC can also be provided.

[0110] From Figure 1 It can be seen that the control device 31 of the buffer storage device 19 is formed completely separately from the control device 51 of the edge server 15 and is thus configured as an autonomous control device 31. This can make the control device 31 suitable for writing the camera image data K into the data memory 23 of the buffer storage device 19 and thus optimize the control device 31 for this function. Thereby, on the one hand, the capability for writing the camera image data K into the data memory 23 in real time can be ensured and, on the other hand, by making the control device 31 exclusively dedicated to this function, it can be achieved that writing the camera image data K into the data memory 23 is carried out with as low a power consumption or energy consumption as possible.

[0111] In order to be able to write the camera image data K into the data memory 23 as quickly as possible, the control device 31 of the buffer storage device 19 is connected to the data memory 23 via a PCI Express 58. Furthermore, in the data transmission path 63 from the movie camera 13 to the edge server 15, the buffer storage device 19 is connected to the edge server 15 via a Gigabit Ethernet connection 59.Figure 1 In the embodiment shown, the ASIC chip 39 is arranged in the input / output area of the data memory 23 to encrypt the camera image data K during writing into the data memory 23 and to decrypt the data again when read out from the data memory 23. However, such encryption of the camera image data K can also be implemented, for example, on the software and / or hardware side at the control device 31, so that Figures 2 to 5 The embodiment shown does not have an ASIC chip in the input / output area of the data memory 23, however, in which encryption of the camera image data K can still be provided. Furthermore, in some embodiments, as Figure 1 Instead of the ASIC chip 39 shown, an FPGA can also be arranged in the input / output area of the data memory 23 to enable encryption of the camera image data K.

[0112] Furthermore, the buffer storage device 19 and in particular its control device 31 can also be configured to process the camera image data K and in particular to compress and / or reduce the data in order to generate processed camera image data D as a result. According to Figure 1 The buffer storage device 19 has a second interface 49 via which the processed camera image data D can be transmitted to an output device 41, in particular a monitor. This makes it possible to check the recordings generated by the film camera 13 directly at the monitor 41, even if it is not possible to transmit the complete camera image data K to the monitor 41 due to the amount of data generated.

[0113] While the second interface 49 is provided by way of example in the Figure 1 to transmit the processed camera image data D to the output device 41, it is also generally possible to transmit the processed camera image data D to the output device 41 via the same physical interface 29 via which the camera image data K is also received. In such an embodiment, for example, a router can be arranged between the camera 13 and the buffer storage device 19 for this purpose to be able to distribute the camera image data K from the camera 13 to the buffer storage device 19 and the processed camera image data D to the output device 41. Such a configuration with a router is particularly suitable for transmitting the camera image data K and the processed camera image data D via an Ethernet connection, but can also be provided, for example, via a WLAN / WiFi connection and possibly via PCI Express.

[0114] In order to be able to finally transmit the camera image data K to the edge server 15, the buffer storage device 19 is connected to the edge server 15 via a data connection 27, which can in particular be implemented via PCI Express 37. As has already been explained above, it can be provided, for example, that camera image data K is transmitted from the data memory 23 of the buffer storage device 19 to the edge server 15 during a recording interruption of the film camera 13. Alternatively, however, it can also be provided that camera image data K can be written to the data memory 23 and read out from the data memory 23 at the same time. The control device 31 of the buffer storage device 19 can be configured, however, to write camera image data K to the data memory 23 in preference to a readout of the data memory 23 in order to ensure that all camera image data K is stored in the data memory 23. Furthermore, the control device 31 can also be configured to check the integrity of the transmission of the camera image data K, for example via a cyclic redundancy check and / or a Hamming code. The control device 31 can also be configured to request again any data packets of the camera image data K that have not been transmitted to the buffer storage device 19 and / or the edge server 15 (or received at the buffer storage device 19 and / or the edge server 15) from the film camera 13, which can transmit the corresponding camera image data K from the buffer storage 43 to the buffer storage device 19, for example.

[0115] In order to be able to transmit the received camera image data K to the system 17 arranged downstream, the control device 51 of the edge server 15 is connected to the Ethernet card 35, for example via PCI Express, which can then transmit the camera image data K to the cloud-based data storage device 45 via the Ethernet connection 61. A PCI Express 55 and a USB connection 53 are further provided for transmitting the camera image data K to the local data storage devices 47 and 48, respectively.

[0116] Furthermore, Figure 1 It is shown that a configuration C of the film camera 13 can be stored in a memory 77 of the edge server 15. The edge server 15 can be configured to transmit the configuration C to the film camera 13 upon coupling of the film camera 13 to the interface 29 of the buffer storage device 19 and / or upon receiving an image generated by the film camera 13 or the corresponding camera image data K. For example, upon a first connection of the film camera 13 to the edge server 15, a default configuration C associated with the device type of the film camera 13 can be transmitted to the film camera 13. If the film camera 13 has been connected to the edge server 15 previously, however, the last used configuration C of the film camera 13 can be transmitted to the film camera 13. Upon coupling with the edge server 15, the film camera 13 can thereby be set directly to the desired or preferred configuration C.

[0117] In this respect, by means of Figure 1 The illustrated system comprising the movie camera 13 and the data processing device 11 enables a temporal decoupling between the recording of the camera image data K and the transmission of the camera image data K to the edge server 15.

[0118] In summary, by means of Figure 6 The illustrated method can thus be performed by the data processing device 11. In step 65, a scene can be recorded by the movie camera 13 and camera image data K representing the scene can be generated by the movie camera 13. In step 67, the camera image data K can then be transmitted to the buffer storage device 19, which can write the camera image data K to the data storage 23 of the buffer storage device 19 in step 69. In particular, the camera image data K can be encrypted before or during this step 69 in order to be able to store it in encrypted form in the data storage 23. If necessary, also the processing of the camera image data K already explained can be carried out in order to be able to transmit the processed camera image data D to the output device 41.

[0119] In step 71, the camera image data K stored in the data storage 23 can be read out from the data storage 23 and, if necessary, decrypted. Then, in step 73, the camera image data K can be transmitted to the edge server 15, in particular during an interruption of the recording by the movie camera 13.

[0120] Figures 2 to 5 Further embodiments of the data processing device 11 are shown, which are generally designed in accordance with the principles explained above with reference to Figure 1 Thus, the following mainly refers to differences of the respective data processing device 11 illustrated in Figures 2 to 5 compared to the data processing device 11 illustrated in Figure 1 In this respect, also one or more features explained above in connection with Figure 1 may be implemented in these further data processing devices 11.

[0121] In accordance with Figure 2In the data processing device 11, in addition to the data memory 23, a further data memory 25 is provided, in which the camera image data K can be written both in the data memory 23 and in the data memory 25. In this respect, the camera image data K can be said to be stored twice, and the data memory 25 can serve as a mirror memory of the data memory 23. This makes it possible to check and / or further ensure the complete transmission of the camera image data K, since even in the event of a possible disturbance of the data memory 23 or 25, the respective other data memory 25 or 23 can continue to be available, and the camera image data K can be written to this data memory 25 or 23.

[0122] Furthermore, it is shown in Figure 2 that the film camera 13 can also be connected to the interface 29 of the buffer storage device 19 via a cable connection 59. In such a buffer storage device 19, it is also possible to provide that not only the camera image data K from the data memory 23, but also the camera image data K from the data memory 25 are transmitted to the edge server 15 via the data connection 27, wherein, however, the camera image data K can ultimately also simply be transmitted to the edge server 15. However, in the transmission of the camera image data K from both data memories 23 and 25 to the edge server 15, the camera image data K, taking into account the storage in the different data memories 23 and 25, can ultimately be understood as being transmitted via partly different data transmission paths to the edge server.

[0123] In the data processing device 11 according to Figure 3 , the camera image data K generated by the film camera 13 are transmitted to the edge server 15 via two parallel data transmission paths 63 and 64, wherein on each of the data transmission paths 63 and 64, a respective buffer storage device 19 or 21 is provided between the film camera 13 and the edge server 15. In this respect, in this embodiment a further buffer storage device 21 can be provided, which comprises a control device 31, in particular a smart network interface card 33, and a data memory 25, and which data memory 25 can in turn be used in particular as a mirror memory of the data memory 23, in which the camera image data K are stored. Both buffer storage devices 19 and 21 can in particular be mechanically coupled to the edge server 15.

[0124] Figure 4An embodiment is shown, in which the camera image data K has to be generated and stored simultaneously by two movie cameras 13 and 14. This can be provided, for example, if a scene is recorded from different perspectives. Here, the data processing device 11 also has two buffer storage devices 19 and 21, which comprise respective data memories 23 and 25, so that the camera image data K generated by the movie camera 13 can be transmitted to the edge server 15 via the buffer storage device 19 and its data memory 23, while the camera image data K generated by the movie camera 14 can be transmitted to the edge server 15 via the buffer storage device 21 and its data memory 25. For both movie cameras 13 and 14, the camera image data K can thus first be written in real time to the respective data memory 23 or 25 of the associated buffer storage device 19 or 21, so that the edge server 15 does not have to receive any camera image data K of the movie camera 13 or 14 in real time or does not have to provide the corresponding capacity for this purpose.

[0125] Figure 5 Another embodiment is shown, which is able to record camera image data K generated in parallel by two movie cameras 13 and 14. In this embodiment, only one buffer storage device 19 is provided in the data transmission path 63 or 64 from the movie cameras 13 and 14 to the edge server 15. However, in addition to the interface 29 via which the camera image data K can be received from the movie camera 13, the buffer storage device 19 also has a further interface 30 to be able to receive the camera image data K from the movie camera 14 via the local radio connection 57. Furthermore, the buffer storage device 19 comprises two data memories 23 and 25, so that, for example, the camera image data K of the movie camera 13 can be stored in the data memory 23 and the camera image data K of the movie camera 14 can be stored in the data memory 25 and thus separated from one another in order to be subsequently transmitted to the edge server 15. This also enables the real-time structured storage of the camera image data K of the two movie cameras 13 and 14 without the corresponding capacity having to be provided by the edge server 15.

[0126] In general, it can also be provided that, in accordance with Figures 1 to 5The data memories 23 and / or 25 of at least one of the buffer storage devices 19 or 21 of the embodiments can be replaced. In the respective embodiments, the respective control device 31 of the buffer storage device 19 or 21 can be configured to delete any camera image data K stored in the data memory 23 or 25 prior to replacing the data memory 23 or 25, in order to be able to prevent theft of the camera image data K. Furthermore, the encryption of the camera image data K already explained can also be provided in such embodiments, in order to ensure that the camera image data K stored on the data memory 23 or 25 is protected against unauthorized access.

[0127] List of reference signs

[0128] 11 data processing device

[0129] 13 movie camera

[0130] 14 movie camera

[0131] 15 edge server

[0132] 17 system arranged downstream

[0133] 19 buffer storage device

[0134] 21 buffer storage device

[0135] 23 data memory

[0136] 25 data memory

[0137] 27 data connection

[0138] 28 camera data connection

[0139] 29 interface

[0140] 30 interface

[0141] 31 control device

[0142] 33 intelligent network interface card

[0143] 35 Ethernet card

[0144] 37 PCI Express

[0145] 39 ASIC chip

[0146] 41 output device

[0147] 43 buffer memory

[0148] 45 cloud-based data memory device

[0149] 47 local data storage device

[0150] 48 local data storage device

[0151] 49 second interface

[0152] 51 control device of the server

[0153] 53 USB connection

[0154] 55 PCI Express

[0155] 56 PCI Express

[0156] 57 local radio connection

[0157] 58 PCI Express

[0158] 59 cable connection

[0159] 61 Ethernet connection

[0160] 63 data transmission path

[0161] 64 data transmission path

[0162] 65 step

[0163] 67 step

[0164] 69 step

[0165] 71 step

[0166] 73 step

[0167] 75 mechanically coupled

[0168] 77 memory

[0169] A audio data

[0170] B image data

[0171] C configuration

[0172] D processed camera image data

[0173] K camera image data

[0174] M metadata

Claims

1. A method for recording camera image data (K) on an edge server (15), comprising the following steps: The scene is recorded using cinema cameras (13, 14), and camera image data (K) representing the scene is generated using the cinema cameras (13, 14). The camera image data (K) is transmitted to the edge server (15). In the data transmission path (63, 64) from the cinema camera (13, 14) to the edge server (15), a buffer storage device (19, 21) including a non-volatile data storage device (23, 25) is arranged between the cinema camera (13, 14) and the edge server (15). The camera image data (K) is first written into the data storage (23, 25) of the buffer storage device (19, 21), and the camera image data (K) written into the data storage (23, 25) is then transmitted from the buffer storage device (19, 21) to the edge server (15).

2. The method according to claim 1, in, The camera image data (K) includes image data (B) representing various images of the scene, and at least one of audio data (A) or metadata (M) associated with the recording.

3. The method according to claim 1, in, The camera image data (K) is written to the data memory (23, 25) of the buffer storage device (19, 21) at a data rate of at least 10 Gbit / s, at least 25 Gbit / s, or at least 80 Gbit / s.

4. The method according to claim 1, in, The data storage (23, 25) of the buffer storage devices (19, 21) provides a storage capacity of at least 1 terabyte.

5. The method according to claim 1, in, The buffer storage device (19) is mechanically coupled to the edge server (15).

6. The method according to claim 1, in, The camera image data (K) is transmitted via at least one of the following: Transmitted to the buffer storage device (19, 21) via Ethernet connection (57); or Data is transferred from the buffer storage devices (19, 21) to the edge server (15) via the PCI Express peripheral component interconnect fast standard (37).

7. The method according to claim 1, in, The buffer storage devices (19, 21) have a control device (31). The control device (31) includes at least one of a smart network interface card (33), an FPGA field-programmable gate array, or an ASIC application-specific integrated circuit.

8. The method according to claim 1, in, Write access to the data memory (23, 25) of the buffer storage device (19, 21) for writing the camera image data (K) to the buffer storage device (19, 21) takes precedence over reading the camera image data (K) from the data memory (23, 25) of the buffer storage device (19, 21) for transmitting the camera image data (K) to the edge server (15).

9. The method according to claim 1, in, The camera image data (K) is encrypted by the buffer storage devices (19, 21).

10. The method according to claim 1, in, The integrity of transmitting the camera image data (K) to at least one of the buffer storage devices (19, 21) or the edge server (15) is checked.

11. The method according to claim 1, in, The camera image data (K) is transmitted to the edge server (15) via two parallel data transmission paths (63, 64).

12. The method according to claim 1, in, The camera image data (K) is transmitted from the buffer storage device (19, 21) to the edge server (15), and the camera image data (K) is processed at the buffer storage device (19, 21), wherein the processed camera image data (D) is transmitted to the output device (41).

13. The method according to claim 1, in, The camera image data (K) is transmitted from the edge server (15) to the cloud-based data storage device (45).

14. The method according to claim 1, in, The camera image data (K) from at least two cinema cameras (13, 14) is simultaneously transmitted to the edge server (15). In this process, the camera image data (K) of the at least two cinema cameras (13, 14) is transmitted to the same buffer storage device (19), and the buffer storage device (19) includes separate data memories (23, 25) for writing the camera image data (K) of the respective cinema cameras (13, 14); or Each of the cinema cameras (13, 14) is connected to its respective associated buffer storage device (19, 21), and the camera image data (K) of each cinema camera (13, 14) is written into the data memory (23, 25) of the associated buffer storage device (19, 21).

15. The method according to claim 1, in, The cinema cameras (13, 14) are configured via the edge server (15) when connected to it.

16. A data processing apparatus (11) for processing camera image data (K), the camera image data (K) being generated by a cinema camera (13, 14) during film recording and representing a recorded scene, the data processing apparatus (11) comprising: An edge server (15) configured to receive the camera image data (K) and forward the received camera image data (K) to a downstream system (17), and Buffer storage devices (19, 21), said buffer storage devices (19, 21) including non-volatile data storage devices (23, 25), The buffer storage devices (19, 21) have a data connection (27) to the edge server (15) and an interface (29) for establishing a camera data connection (57, 59) with the movie camera (13, 14). The buffer storage devices (19, 21) are configured to write camera image data (K) transmitted to the interface (29) into the data memory (23, 25) and to transmit the camera image data (K) written into the data memory (23, 25) to the edge server (15).

17. The data processing apparatus (11) according to claim 16, in, The buffer storage devices (19, 21) have a control device (31). The control device (31) includes at least one of a smart network interface card (33), an FPGA field-programmable gate array, or an ASIC application-specific integrated circuit.

18. The data processing apparatus (11) according to claim 16, in, The data storage devices (23, 25) of the buffer storage devices (19, 21) are replaceable.

19. The data processing apparatus (11) according to claim 16, in, The buffer storage devices (19, 21) have at least a second data storage device (23, 25), or at least two buffer storage devices (19, 21) are connected to the edge server (15).

20. The data processing apparatus (11) according to claim 16, in, The configuration (C) of the cinema cameras (13, 14) is stored on the edge server (15), wherein the edge server (15) is configured to transmit the configuration (C) to the cinema cameras (13, 14) when the cinema cameras (13, 14) are connected to the interface (29) of the buffer storage device (19, 21).

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