Security systems and methods

Abstract

The application describes a security system including a drone having an imaging device for capturing images of the scene below the drone and a transmitter for transmitting images captured by the drone

Description

SECURITY SYSTEMS AND METHODSField of Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to security systems and methods, including systems and methods fortracking targets, in particular such systems that utilise unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), often referred to as “drones”.

[0002] Embodiments of the invention can be used to identify and track a variety of types of target, including people and vehicles for example. Embodiments of the invention are useful in particular for security systems.Background

[0003] Drones were first developed for use in military applications but have since been used in a wide variety of non-military applications. These include aerial photography and filming, environmental monitoring, building and infrastructure inspection and product delivery, for example. Drones are also currently used for policing, surveillance and other security-related purposes.

[0004] Drones, or UAVs, are unmanned, in that they have no human pilot, crew or passengers on board. Their flight is controlled remotely. They may, for example, be piloted remotely by a human or fly fully autonomously with no human intervention. Some drones are classed as semi-autonomous, where they can be controlled both manually and, to at least some degree, autonomously. For example, it is fairly common for remotely (manually) piloted drones to have and autonomous ‘return- to-base’ function and / or an autonomous landing function. Some drones may also autonomously fly a preprogramed flight path.

[0005] Most commonly, drones for non-military uses are of a helicopter type having one or more rotors, for example as quad-copters having four rotors that provide lift and propulsion, as well as directional control for the drone. Fixed wing drones are also known.

[0006] US 2017 / 0193308 describes a security system that utilises an autonomous drone (UAV) including a camera, to assist with personal security. The drone can be deployed by a user in an emergency situation and the camera on the drone used to capture the scene around the user and transmit images to emergency responders.

[0007] WO 2017 / 106697 describes another security system in which a drone can be deployed to locate, identify and track a known criminal, fugitive, missing person, and / or other person of interest. The identification is carried out using voice recognition and facial recognition.

[0008] In general, embodiments of the invention are concerned with providing new approaches to tracking targets using drones, in particular targets associated with criminal or other undesirable activity in or around buildings that are monitored by security personnel and / or with security cameras. The targets may be the perpetrators of the criminal or undesirable activity and / or vehicles in which they travel away from the monitored buildings.

[0009] In some embodiments, identifying characteristics of the targets are captured with the security cameras of the monitored building and / or noted by the security personnel. These identifying characteristics can then be used by a control system for a drone to facilitate tracking of the targets.

[0010] Where the targets are people, the identifying characteristics may for example include facial features, other distinctive physiological features and / or distinctive clothing. Where the targets are vehicles, the identifying characteristics may for example include vehicle registration numbers, model and colour of vehicle and / or other distinctive aspects of the vehicle’s appearance.

[0011] In a first aspect, the invention provides a tracking system for tracking a target, the system comprising: a drone including an imaging device for capturing images of the scene below the drone and a location device for detecting the location of the drone; and a drone control system remote from the drone and in wireless communication with the drone and receiving image and location data from the imaging device and location device of the drone respectively; the drone being controlled to track the target based on visual characteristics of the target detectable by the imaging device, the visual characteristics being provided to the drone and / or the drone control system from an external source.

[0012] In a second aspect the invention provides a method for tracking a target using a drone, the method comprising: capturing one or more visual characteristics of the target; providing the visual characteristics of the target to the drone and / or a control system for the drone; the drone and / or the drone control system using the visual characteristics of the target and image data from an imaging device of the drone to control the drone to track the target.

[0013] In some embodiments of either aspect, the external source is an image recognition system.

[0014] In some embodiments, the system is associated with a premises and is intended fortracking targets that have been present on the premises. The premised may be any commercial or residential premises. One example is a petrol station.

[0015] In some embodiments, the external source is an image recognition system installed at the premises, for example including CCTV cameras.

[0016] In some embodiments, the target is a vehicle and the image recognition system is a vehicle number plate recognition system. In some other embodiments, the target is a person and the image recognition system is a facial recognition system.

[0017] In some embodiments, the drone includes a processor configured to use the visual characteristics of the target and data from the drone’s image capture device (e.g.one or more cameras) to identify the target to be tracked.

[0018] In some embodiments the drone control system includes a processor configured to use the visual characteristics of the target and data from the image capture device of the drone to identify the target to be tracked.

[0019] In some embodiments, the drone acts autonomously to track the target. In some other embodiments, the drone is controlled by the drone control system to track the target.

[0020] In some embodiments, the location data from the location device of the drone and / or image data from the imaging device of the drone is transmitted to an enforcement service (for example the police or a private security firm or both). It may be transmitted to the enforcement service via the drone control system, for example.

[0021] In some embodiments, the drone is launched in response to a trigger. The trigger may be automatically generated based on one or more preset parameters, including, for example unexpected movement of a potential target. Alternatively, the launch of the drone may be manually triggered.

[0022] In some embodiments, the system includes a smartphone app that can be used to trigger launch of the drone. For example, the app can include a ‘button’ (e.g. a panic button) that can be used to manually launch the drone. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the drone can be launched automatically in response to predetermined parameters detected by the smartphone sensors.Examples of possible automatic triggers include sudden movement detected by the smartphone accelerometer (which may indicate a fall or a struggle); certain types of loud noise or particular voice commands detected by the smartphone’s microphone; and the location of the smartphone detected by the smartphone’s position sensor (for example where the smartphone is in an unexpected location).

[0023] In some embodiments, triggering launch of the drone from a smartphone app deploys the drone to a preset location, for example a specific commercial or residential building. In some other embodiments, triggering launch of the drone from the smartphone app deploys the drone to the location of the smartphone (determined by the smartphone’s location - e.g. GPS - sensor).

[0024] In a third aspect, the invention provides a security system comprising: a drone including an imaging device for capturing images of the scene below the drone and a a transmitter for transmitting images (still or video) captured by the drone’s imaging device to a remote location; and a drone control system remote from the drone in wireless communication with the drone and receiving image data from the imaging device of the drone; and a drone launch control device remote from the drone and from the drone control system and in wireless communication with the drone control system and / or the drone, the launch control device adapted to launch the drone and deploy the drone to a specific location.

[0025] In some embodiments, the launch control device is an app on a smartphone. In some other embodiments, the launch control device is a controller linked to a building security system.

[0026] In some embodiments, the launch control device includes a manual control (for example a ‘button’ in the app or another manually operated control, e.g. associated with a building security system) for triggering launch of the drone.

[0027] In some embodiments, the launch control device is configured to automatically trigger launch of the drone in response to parameters senses by the launch control device (for example, as discussed above in relation to the smartphone app and / or based on triggering of a building alarm system, e.g. detection of an intruder or other alarm condition).

[0028] In some embodiments, the drone is deployed to a predefined location, for example a specific commercial building of facility or a specific residential building.

[0029] In some embodiments, the drone is deployed to the location of the launch control device (e.g. smartphone - the location being determined by GPS data from the smartphone).

[0030] In some embodiments, a user of the launch control device can specify at the time of launch (or ahead of time) a location to which the drone should be deployed.

[0031] In some embodiments, once the drone is at the specified or predetermined location, the drone begins to transmit image data.

[0032] The image data may be transmitted to the launch control device as an alternative to or in addition to transmission of the data to the enforcement service.

[0033] Embodiments of the third aspect may also include features of the first aspect discussed above, for example tracking a target identified at the location to which the drone has been deployed. In this case, the target may be the person in possession of the launch control device (e.g. smartphone).

[0034] The skilled person will appreciate that the features described and defined in connection with the aspects of the invention and the embodiments thereof may be combined in any combination, regardless of whether the specific combination is expressly mentioned herein. Thus, all such combinations are considered to be made available to the skilled person.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0035] Embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0036] Figure 1 schematically illustrates a system in accordance with an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention for use in tracking the vehicle of a person who leaves a petrol station without paying for fuel that they have dispensed;

[0037] Figure 2 illustrates a process of operation of the system of fig. 1 ;

[0038] Figure 3 schematically illustrates a system in accordance with an embodiment of the third aspect of the invention for use in deploying a drone to the location of a target based on a trigger from a launch control device (e.g. a smartphone app or a controller associated with a building security system); and

[0039] Figure 4 illustrates a process of operation of the system of fig. 3.Detailed Description

[0040] An embodiment of the present invention is described below by way of example only.

[0041] In the exemplified embodiment, a system in accordance with the invention is used to address the increasingly common problem of people leaving a petrol station without having paid for fuel that they have dispensed.

[0042] Very typically, petrol filling stations now make use of CCTV cameras and associated ANPR (automated number plate recognition) systems to capture the registration number of each vehicle that stops adjacent a pump at the station. Usually, the registration number is captured and recorded before fuel can be dispensed from the pump. By doing this, it becomes possible for the petrol station operators to, after the event, track down people (via the registered vehicle ownership) who have departed without paying for fuel that they have dispensed. However, with this approach it can take a long period of time to trace the perpetrator and the lost revenue may never be recovered in cases where the vehicle or its owner cannot be traced, for example if the vehicle is stolen or a fake or spoofed vehicle registration number is displayed on the vehicle number plate.

[0043] The described example seeks to address this problem by rapidly deploying a drone to track a vehicle that has departed from a petrol station with the vehicle occupants having now paid for dispensed fuel. In this way the location and images of the vehicle can be transmitted to an enforcement service (for example the local police or a security service), who can then quickly apprehend the perpetrator.

[0044] Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a system that can be used in the above described manner, where a vehicle 2 has departed from a petrol station 4 without having paid for fuel that has been dispensed.

[0045] The petrol station has a CCTV / ANPR system 10 installed, which captures and records the registration number displayed on the vehicle number plate prior to any fuel being dispensed. In the event that the vehicle departs without payment having been made, a drone control system 8 (which may be cloud-based for example) can be alerted and the vehicle registration sent to this control system 8.

[0046] As soon as an alert is received by the control system 8, a drone 6 is deployed. The drone is preferably stationed at or near to the petrol station so that it is already in the vicinity of the departing vehicle when it is launched.

[0047] In the exemplary case, the control system 8 sends the vehicle registration number of the suspect vehicle to the drone 6 and the drone uses an onboard processor, controls and camera(s) to identify and subsequently track the departing vehicle 2. Alternatively, the drone may send image data to the (e.g. cloud-based) drone control system, which is then used by the control system 8 to calculate and send flight path control signals to the drone.

[0048] The drone 6 and the control system 8 communication over wireless communications links 12, which may for example be 4G or 5G cellular data connections.

[0049] The drone 6 sends its location (e.g. GPS location) or an estimated location of the vehicle 2 (estimated, for example, based on the known location of the drone 6 and analysis of images of the vehicle captured by the drone to estimate the position of the vehicle relative to the drone) to the drone control system 8. The control system 8 then sends the location information and images from the drone’s camera(s) to the enforcement service. Image data (e.g. video data) may also be passed from the drone 6 to the enforcement service, via the drone control system 8.

[0050] Once launched, the drone may operate autonomously or, in some embodiments, under the control, or partial control, of a human operator.

[0051] Any suitable drone and drone control system can be used. One example is a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced drone with a DJI Smart Controller.

[0052] Preferably the drone is weatherproof, has a range of at least 10 miles and can fly at speeds of up to at least 50 - 70 km / hr, in order that it can keep pace with the vehicle it is tracking.

[0053] The drone is preferably equipped with one or more of:- a speaker or speakers capable of generating audio outputs including, for example a siren like sound and / or that can be used to emit spoken words in a tannoy-like manner, which can either be pre-recorded or spoken live by an operator; and- a light or lights, for example red / blue flashing lights and / or one or more bright (e.g. bright white) spotlights that can be focused on the target.

[0054] The control system 8 preferably includes the ability to record data received from the drone 6, including image data from the drone’s camera(s) and location data. Preferably this data is timestamped. The recorded data can later be provided to law enforcement organisations as evidence if a criminal conviction is to be pursued.

[0055] Fig. 2 provides an outline of the method of operation of the system described above and illustrated in fig. 1 .

[0056] As a first step, the ANPR system at the petrol station captures the registration number of each vehicle that visits and stops adjacent a filling pump.

[0057] In the case where fuel is dispensed from the pump adjacent the vehicle (whether into the vehicle, which would be the norm, or into another receptacle) and the vehicle subsequently departs without payment having been made for the dispenses fuel, a non-payment alert is generated.

[0058] This alert can be manually generated by an attendant at the petrol station who observes the vehicle departing. More preferably, however, the alert is generated automatically. This may be achieved for example using a combination of data about vehicle movements (for example from cameras within the petrol station) and data from the petrol station’s point of sale system (that tracks fuel being dispensed and associated payments being made).

[0059] When the non-payment alert is generated, the drone is launched, the vehicle registration is provided to the drone and the drone uses this information to identify and track the vehicle. As noted above, this tracking may be carried out autonomously by the drone 6 or, alternatively, under the control of a remote operator / drone pilot.

[0060] Whilst the drone 6 is tracking the vehicle 2, the drone’s location and image data is either continuously or periodically transmitted to the enforcement service, for example via the drone control system 8. Additionally, or alternatively, the enforcement service may have a direct wireless connection to the drone 6.

[0061] Fig. 3 illustrates and alternative mode of operation of the drone 6 and drone control system 8. In this case, launch of the drone is triggered by a launch control device (e.g. an app on a smartphone16 of a user 14 or a controller of a building security system). When launch is triggered, the drone is deployed to a defined location, for example the location of the smartphone 16 based on GPS coordinates from the GPS sensor of the smartphone. Alternatively, the defined location can be the building with which the building security system is associated with. Once the drone 6 is at the defined location it starts to record and transmit video footage of the location. This footage can be streamed to an enforcement service (e.g. police or security firm) and may also be streamed to the app on the smartphone 16 or other launch control device.

[0062] Features of the first embodiment above may also be implemented in this embodiment. For example, the user 14 may be treated as a target to be tracked in accordance with the first embodiment. This means that the drone can follow the user even if their smartphone is turned off or destroyed or they become separated from their smartphone after the drone has arrived.

[0063] The launch of the drone may be triggered manually by the user with a control in the smartphone app or other launch control device, for example with a ‘panic button’ in the app. Another option for manual launch is operation of specific controls on the smartphone, even when the app is not displayed - for example a triple press of a specific button on the phone or a predefined voice command; this enables the drone to be summoned without having to open the app. The drone may also be summoned automatically, for example based on parameters sensed by the smartphone 16. For example, sudden movement indicating a fall or a struggle, detected by the smartphone’s accelerometer and / or certain loud noises detected by the smartphone’s microphone, which might indicate that the user 14 is in trouble. Launch of the drone may also be automated based on triggering of a building alarm, for example, with the drone then being despatched to the location of the building. In some embodiments, one drone may be associated with multiple buildings.

[0064] In other implementations, the drone can be deployed to a different location - i.e. a location other than the location of the smartphone - for example, a predefined location such as a specific property, a location defined by the user of the smartphone at the time of deployment of the drone, or the location of another device, for example a tracking device (which could itself be another smartphone) associated with another individual.

[0065] Examples of uses of the system include:- request immediate assistance at the smartphone user’s location;- requesting a ‘meet & greet’ service at a predefined or specified location (for example the users residence or place of work), for example so the user of the smartphone can see video footage of the location from the drone before they arrive at the location;- requesting a drone to follow the user of the smartphone or another individual for security purposes;- launching a drone to the location of a suspected intruder in or around a monitored building; and- launching a drone to the location of a suspected alarm incident (e.g. fire) in or around a monitored building.

[0066] The skilled person will appreciate that embodiments of the invention can be used to assist with the security of facilities other than petrol stations and for scenarios where the crime or other undesirable act committed is something other than non-payment for goods. The system may be used for other types of commercial premises for example, including shops, hospitality venues, manufacturing facilites and buildings on industrial estates to name only a few of the many possible examples. The system may also be used, for example, in residential settings, including private residences.

[0067] The skilled person will also understand that embodiments of the invention can be used to track targets involved in activities other than non-payment for goods or services, for example other criminal or undesirable acts such as breaking and entering into a premises or trespassing on a premises, attacking a person in or around the premises, or vandalising a premises.

[0068] The skilled person will also appreciate that embodiments of the invention can be used to track targets other than vehicles. For example, people can be tracked using visual characteristics captured with a camera, for instance with the use of facial recognition technology.

[0069] It will be understood that the above description of a preferred embodiment is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art. What has been described above includes an example of an embodiment. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable modification and alteration of the systems or methods for purposes of describing the aforementioned aspects, but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that many further modifications and permutations of various aspects are possible. Accordingly, the described aspects are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A security system comprising: a drone including an imaging device for capturing images of the scene below the drone and a transmitter for transmitting images captured by the drone’s imaging device to a remote location; a drone control system remote from the drone in wireless communication with the drone and receiving image data from the imaging device of the drone; and a drone launch control device remote from the drone and in wireless communication with the drone control system and / or the drone, the launch control device adapted to launch the drone and deploy the drone to a specific location.

2. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the launch control device is an app on a smartphone.

3. A system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the launch control device is a controller associated with a building security system.

4. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the launch control device includes a manual control for triggering launch of the drone.

5. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the launch control device is configured to automatically trigger launch of the drone in response to the occurrence of one or more predefined conditions.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein the predefined conditions include one or more of: movement of the launch control device; sound detected by the launch control device; the location of the launch control device; and triggering of an alarm in a building security system.

7. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the drone is deployed to a predefined location.

8. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the drone is deployed to the location of the launch control.

9. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a user of the launch control device can specify at the time of launch a location to which the drone should be deployed.

10. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein once the drone is at the specified or predetermined location, the drone begins to transmit image data.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein image data is transmitted to the launch control device and / or an enforcement service.

12. A tracking system fortracking a target, the system comprising: a drone including an imaging device for capturing images of the scene below the drone and a location device for detecting the location of the drone; and a drone control system remote from the drone and in wireless communication with the drone and receiving image and location data from the imaging device and location device of the drone respectively; the drone being controlled to track the target based on visual characteristics of the target detectable by the imaging device, the visual characteristics being provided to the drone and / or the drone control system from an external source.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein the external source is an image recognition system.

14. A system according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the system is associated with a premises and is intended fortracking targets that have been present on the premises.

15. A system according to claim 14, wherein the premises is a petrol station.

16. A system according to claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the external source is an image recognition system installed at the premises.

17. A system according to claim 13 or claim 16, wherein the target is a vehicle and the image recognition system is a vehicle number plate recognition system.

18. A system according to claim 13 or claim 16, wherein the target is a person and the image recognition system is a facial recognition system.

19. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein the drone includes a processor configured to use the visual characteristics of the target and data from the image capture device to identify the target to be tracked.

20. A system according to any one of the claims 12 to 19, wherein the drone control system includes a processor configured to use the visual characteristics of the target and data from the image capture device of the drone to identify the target to be tracked.21 . A system according to any one of claims 12 to 20, wherein the drone acts autonomously to track the target.

22. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 20, wherein the drone is controlled by the drone control system to track the target.

23. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 22, wherein the visual characteristics of the target are provides from the external source to the drone via the drone control system.

24. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 23, wherein location data from the location device of the drone and / or image data from the imaging device of the drone is transmitted to an enforcement service.

25. A system according to claim 24, wherein the data from the drone is transmitted to the enforcement service via the drone control system.

26. A method fortracking a target using a drone, the method comprising: capturing one or more visual characteristics of the target; providing the visual characteristics of the target to the drone and / or a control system for the drone; the drone and / or the drone control system using the visual characteristics of the target and image data from an imaging device of the drone to control the drone to track the target.

27. A method according to claim 26, wherein tracking of the target by the drone is initiated by an external trigger that identifies the target as a target of interest that is to be tracked.

28. A method according to claim 27, wherein the external trigger identifies the target as being associated with a criminal or undesirable activity.

29. A method according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the trigger is automatically generated based on detected activity of the target.

30. A method according to any one of claims 26 to 29, wherein the target is a vehicle.

31. A method according to any one of claims 26 to 29, wherein the target is a person.

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