Monitoring systems, monitoring methods, and programs

Abstract

To provide a monitoring system, a monitoring method, and a program, configured to reduce the time and effort for confirming videos of a plurality of monitoring cameras before and after an abnormal sound is emitted.SOLUTION: A monitoring system includes: a recording management unit which manages information including timing at which an abnormal sound is generated in video data captured by a monitoring camera, as metadata, together with the video data; a camera position information holding unit which stores camera position information indicating a position of the monitoring camera; a display content determination unit which determines whether a motion or a person is shown in the video data at the timing included in the metadata when displaying the video data of a first monitoring camera, which is a monitoring camera that has detected the abnormal sound; and a recording display control unit which displays, on a display unit, the video data of the first monitoring camera if the motion or the person is shown in the video data, and if not, displays, on the display unit, video data of peripheral cameras near the first monitoring camera, in addition to the video data of the first monitoring camera, on the basis of the camera position information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a monitoring system, a monitoring method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In care facilities and the like, in order to detect abuse by staff, surveillance cameras are often installed inside the facility. However, abuse that occurs in the blind spots of the surveillance cameras may not be detected. Therefore, there is a technique that uses a microphone built into the surveillance camera to collect sound and records metadata of recording data (video data) at the timing when a loud sound is made, and when playing back the recording data, plays it back starting from the timing when the loud sound is made. This makes it possible to check with the recording data whether there were no people in the vicinity before and after an abnormal sound such as a loud sound was made.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] However, with the above technique, it is necessary for the user to manually perform the cueing of the recording data, and when checking the times before and after a sound is made for the recording data of each of a plurality of surveillance cameras, it takes a lot of time and effort.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a monitoring system, a monitoring method, and a program that can reduce the labor of checking video data of a plurality of surveillance cameras before and after an abnormal sound is made.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention uses, as metadata, information including the timing when an abnormal sound occurs in video data captured by a surveillance camera, the movieThe system includes a recording management unit that manages data together with the recording data, a camera position information holding unit that stores camera position information indicating the location of the surveillance camera, a display content determination unit that, when displaying the video data of the first surveillance camera which is the surveillance camera that detected the abnormal sound, determines whether there is movement or a person in the video data at the timing included in the metadata, and a recording display control unit that, if there is movement or a person in the video data, displays the video data of the first surveillance camera on the display unit, and if there is no movement and no person in the video data, displays the video data of surrounding cameras which are surveillance cameras around the first surveillance camera on the display unit in addition to the video data of the first surveillance camera based on the camera position information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, the effort required to check video data from multiple surveillance cameras before and after an abnormal sound is emitted can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the monitoring system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server and management terminal in the monitoring system according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of the hardware configuration of a surveillance camera in the surveillance system according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows an example of the functional configuration of the monitoring system according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows an example of camera location information stored in the camera location information holding unit of the monitoring system according to this embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example of metadata stored in the recording management unit of the monitoring system according to this embodiment. [Figure 7]Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the video data display processing flow in the monitoring system according to this embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the decision-making process in the display content determination unit of the monitoring system according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] Embodiments of the monitoring system, monitoring method, and program will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

[0009] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a monitoring system according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the monitoring system according to this embodiment includes a plurality of monitoring cameras 1-1, ..., 1-n, a server 2, and a management terminal 3 such as a PC (Personal Computer) operated by a user. In the following description, if the plurality of monitoring cameras 1-1, ..., 1-n are not distinguished, they will be referred to as monitoring camera 1. The plurality of monitoring cameras 1, the server 2, and the management terminal 3 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network NT.

[0010] Figure 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server and management terminal in the monitoring system according to this embodiment. Here, an example of the hardware configuration of server 2 is described, but management terminal 3 has a similar hardware configuration. Server 2 according to this embodiment has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, RAM (Random Access Memory) 203, communication I / F 204, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 205, and UI unit 206.

[0011] ROM202 stores various programs and data. RAM203 is used as a workspace when the CPU201 executes various programs. The CPU201 uses RAM203 as a workspace to execute various programs stored in memory units such as ROM202. Communication I / F204 manages communication between server 2 and external devices (e.g., management terminal 3, surveillance camera 1). HDD205 stores various information. UI unit206 displays various information to the user and accepts input of various operations from the user.

[0012] Figure 3 shows an example of the hardware configuration of a surveillance camera in the surveillance system according to this embodiment. The surveillance camera 1 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, a communication I / F 104, a camera 105, and a microphone 106. In this embodiment, the surveillance camera 1 has a microphone 106 built in, but the microphone 106 may be external, and it is not necessary for all of the multiple surveillance cameras 1 to have a microphone 106.

[0013] ROM 102 stores various programs and data. RAM 103 is used as a workspace when the CPU 101 executes various programs. The CPU 101 uses RAM 103 as a workspace to execute various programs stored in memory units such as ROM 102. Communication I / F 104 controls communication between the surveillance camera 1 and external devices (e.g., server 2, management terminal 3).

[0014] Figure 4 shows an example of the functional configuration of the monitoring system according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the server 2 has a camera position information holding unit 211, a recording management unit 212, and a display content determination unit 213, as shown in Figure 4. In this embodiment, the server 2's CPU 201 implements the recording management unit 212 and the display content determination unit 213 by executing a program stored in the ROM 202 using the RAM 203 as a working area.

[0015] The camera position information holding unit 211 is implemented using a ROM 202 or HDD 205, etc., and is an example of a camera position information holding unit that stores camera position information indicating the position of the surveillance camera 1.

[0016] Figure 5 shows an example of camera location information stored by the camera location information storage unit of the monitoring system according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 5, the camera location information storage unit 211 stores the surrounding cameras 1 (peripheral cameras) installed around each of the multiple monitoring cameras 1, in association with each of the multiple monitoring cameras 1.

[0017] Returning to Figure 4, the recording management unit 212 is an example of a recording management unit that manages (stores) metadata of video data (an example of video data) captured by the surveillance camera 1. Here, metadata includes information about motion or sound within the video data. Specifically, the metadata includes information such as the timing (time of sound occurrence, etc.) of abnormal sounds occurring in the video data captured by the surveillance camera 1.

[0018] Figure 6 shows an example of metadata stored by the recording management unit of the monitoring system according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the recording management unit 212 stores the sound generation time in association with the monitoring camera 1, as shown in Figure 6. Here, the sound generation time (sound generation duration) is the time (duration) when an abnormal sound occurred in the video data captured by the monitoring camera 1.

[0019] Returning to FIG. 4, when the display content determination unit 213 displays the video data (moving image data) of the first surveillance camera 1, which is the surveillance camera 1 that detected the abnormal sound, the display content determination unit 213 determines whether there is movement or a person is shown in the video data at the sound generation time included in the metadata of the video data. This is an example of the display content determination unit. In the present embodiment, the display content determination unit 213 determines whether there is movement or a person is shown in the video data at the sound generation time selected by the user from the sound generation times included in the metadata. Also, in the present embodiment, the display content determination unit 213 determines that there is movement in the video data when the amount of movement in the video data exceeds a preset amount of movement.

[0020] Further, when there is movement or a person is shown in the video data, the display content determination unit 213 acquires the video data of the first surveillance camera 1 from the recording management unit 212. On the other hand, when there is no movement and no person is shown in the video data, based on the camera position information of the first surveillance camera 1 stored in the camera position information holding unit 211, in addition to the video data of the first surveillance camera 1, the display content determination unit 213 acquires the video data of the surrounding surveillance cameras 1, which are the peripheral cameras 1 around the first surveillance camera 1.

[0021] In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the management terminal 3 includes a user operation reception unit 311 and a recording display control unit 312. In the present embodiment, the management terminal 3 realizes the user operation reception unit 311 and the recording display control unit 312 by the CPU 201 executing the program stored in the ROM 202 with the RAM 203 as a work area.

[0022] The user operation reception unit 311 is an example of a reception unit that receives a reproduction operation of video data from the user. Also, the user operation reception unit 311 receives a selection of a sound generation time by the user from a list of sound generation times displayed by the recording display control unit 312 described later. In this case, as described above, the display content determination unit 213 of the server 2 determines whether there is movement or a person is shown in the video data at the sound generation time selected by the user.

[0023] The recording display control unit 312 obtains a list of sound generation times included in the metadata from the recording management unit 212 and displays it on the display unit of the management terminal 3, such as the UI unit 206. In addition, when the recording display control unit 312 receives a playback operation for video data from the user operation reception unit 311, it displays the video data obtained by the display content determination unit 213 of the server 2 on the display unit of the management terminal 3, such as the UI unit 206.

[0024] Specifically, if the display content determination unit 213 of the server 2 determines that there is movement or a person in the video data, the recording display control unit 312 displays the video data from the first surveillance camera 1 on a display unit such as the UI unit 205 of the management terminal 3. On the other hand, if the display content determination unit 213 of the server 2 determines that there is no movement and no person in the video data, the recording display control unit 312 displays the video data from the peripheral camera 1 in addition to the video data from the first surveillance camera 1 on a display unit such as the UI unit 206 of the management terminal 3.

[0025] This eliminates the need for users to manually navigate to the beginning of video data containing abnormal sounds, and also eliminates the need to check the video data from each of the multiple surveillance cameras 1 for the time periods before and after the abnormal sound occurred. As a result, the effort required to check the video data from multiple surveillance cameras 1 before and after the abnormal sound occurred can be reduced.

[0026] Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the video data display processing flow in the monitoring system according to this embodiment. When the user operation reception unit 311 of the management terminal 3 receives a video data playback operation from the user, the recording display control unit 312 obtains a list of sound generation times included in the video data metadata from the recording management unit 212 of the server 2 (step S701). The recording display control unit 312 then displays the obtained list on the UI unit 206 of the management terminal 3 (step S702).

[0027] Next, the user operation reception unit 311 of the management terminal 3 receives the user's selection of the sound generation time (step S703) and notifies the display content determination unit 213 of the server 2 that the abnormal sound at the selected sound generation time (selected time) has been selected (step S704). The display content determination unit 213 acquires video data from the recording management unit 212 of the surveillance camera 1 (first surveillance camera 1) that detected an abnormality at the selected sound generation time (step S705). Then, the display content determination unit 213 analyzes whether there is movement or a person in the video data at the selected sound generation time (step S706).

[0028] If there is movement or a person in the video data at the sound generation time (selection time) when the selection was received, the display content determination unit 213 transmits the video data for the selection time from the acquired video data to the recording display control unit 312 of the management terminal 3 and requests the display of the video data (step S707). The recording display control unit 312 displays the video data received from the server 2 on the UI unit 206 of the management terminal 3 (step S708).

[0029] On the other hand, if there is no movement and no people are visible in the video data at the selected time, the display content determination unit 213 obtains information on the surrounding camera 1 associated with the first surveillance camera 1 from the camera position information holding unit 211 (step S709). Next, the display content determination unit 213 obtains the video data of the surrounding camera 1 for the selected time from the recording management unit 212 (step S710). Then, the display content determination unit 213 transmits the video data of the first surveillance camera 1 and the surrounding camera 1 at the selected time to the recording display control unit 312 of the management terminal 3 and requests the display of the said video data (step S711). The recording display control unit 312 displays the video data of the first surveillance camera 1 and the surrounding camera 1 at the selected time on the UI unit 206 of the management terminal 3 (step S712).

[0030] However, if the camera position information holding unit 211 cannot obtain information about the surrounding camera 1 associated with the first surveillance camera 1, the display content determination unit 213 sends only the video data of the first surveillance camera 1 at the selected time to the recording display control unit 312 of the management terminal 3 and requests the display of said video data (step S713). The recording display control unit 312 displays the video data of the first surveillance camera 1 at the selected time on the UI unit 206 of the management terminal 3 (step S714).

[0031] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the decision-making process in the display content determination unit of the monitoring system according to this embodiment. The display content determination unit 213 of the server 2 selects an abnormal sound from among the abnormal sounds detected by the monitoring camera 1 (first monitoring camera 1) selected by the user, corresponding to the sound generation time selected by the user (step S801).

[0032] Next, the display content determination unit 213 determines whether there is movement or a person in the video data of the first surveillance camera 1 within a predetermined time before and after the timing of the occurrence of the selected abnormal sound (sound occurrence time) (step S802). If there is movement or a person in the video data of the first surveillance camera 1 (step S802: Yes), the display content determination unit 213 determines to display only the video data of the first surveillance camera 1 and transmits the video data to the management terminal 3 (step S803).

[0033] On the other hand, if there is no movement and no person is visible in the video data of the first surveillance camera 1 (Step S802: No), the display content determination unit 213 determines whether or not the surrounding camera 1 is registered in association with the first surveillance camera 1 based on the camera position information of the first surveillance camera 1 stored in the camera position information holding unit 211 (Step S804). If the surrounding camera 1 is not registered in association with the first surveillance camera 1 (Step S804: No), the display content determination unit 213 determines to display only the video data of the first surveillance camera 1 and transmits the video data to the management terminal 3 (Step S803).

[0034] Furthermore, if peripheral camera 1 is registered in association with the first surveillance camera 1 (step S804: Yes), the display content determination unit 213 determines that the video data from peripheral camera 1 should be displayed simultaneously with the video data from the first surveillance camera 1, and transmits the video data to the management terminal 3 (step S805).

[0035] Thus, with the monitoring system according to this embodiment, the user does not need to manually cue up the video data containing the abnormal sound, and it is not necessary to check the video data before and after the abnormal sound occurred for multiple video data. As a result, the effort required to check the video data from multiple surveillance cameras 1 before and after the abnormal sound occurred can be reduced.

[0036] The programs executed on server 2 and management terminal 3 in this embodiment are provided pre-installed in ROM 202 or the like. The programs executed on server 2 and management terminal 3 in this embodiment may also be provided as installable or executable files recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, or DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0037] Furthermore, the programs executed on the server 2 and management terminal 3 of this embodiment may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by downloading them via the network. Alternatively, the programs executed on the server 2 and management terminal 3 of this embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0038] The program executed on server 2 in this embodiment has a modular configuration including the above-described parts (recording management unit 212, display content determination unit 213). In actual hardware, a processor such as CPU 201 reads the program from ROM 202 and executes it, loading the above-described parts onto the main memory, and generating the recording management unit 212 and the display content determination unit 213 on the main memory.

[0039] The program executed in the management terminal 3 of this embodiment has a modular configuration that includes the above-described parts (user operation reception unit 311 and recording display control unit 312). In actual hardware, a processor such as the CPU 201 reads the program from the ROM 202 and executes it, loading the above-described parts onto the main memory, and creating the user operation reception unit 311 and the recording display control unit 312 on the main memory. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 Surveillance camera 2 servers 3 Management terminal 201 CPU 202 ROM 203 RAM 204 Communication I / F 205 HDD 206 UI section 211 Camera position information retention unit 212 Recording Management Department 213 Display content judgment section 311 User Operation Reception Section 312 Recording Display Control Unit [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0041] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6768557

Claims

1. The recording management unit manages information including the timing of abnormal sounds occurring in video data captured by surveillance cameras as metadata, along with the video data, A camera position information holding unit that stores camera position information indicating the location of the aforementioned surveillance camera, When displaying the video data from the first surveillance camera, which is the surveillance camera that detected the abnormal sound, a display content determination unit determines whether there is movement or whether a person is visible in the video data at the timing included in the metadata, A recording display control unit that, if there is movement or a person in the video data, displays the video data of the first surveillance camera on the display unit, and if there is no movement and no person in the video data, displays the video data of surrounding cameras, which are surveillance cameras around the first surveillance camera, on the display unit in addition to the video data of the first surveillance camera, based on the camera position information. A monitoring system equipped with the following features.

2. The system further includes a reception unit that receives playback requests for the aforementioned video data from the user, The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the recording display control unit displays the video data on the display unit when it receives the playback operation.

3. The reception unit accepts the user's selection of the timing from among the timings included in the metadata. The monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the display content determination unit determines whether there is movement or whether a person is visible in the video data at the timing when the selection is received.

4. The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the display content determination unit determines that there is movement in the video data when the amount of movement in the video data is greater than a preset amount of movement.

5. A monitoring method performed in a monitoring system including a server and a management terminal, The aforementioned server, The system includes a recording management unit that stores information including the timing of abnormal sounds occurring in video data captured by a surveillance camera as metadata along with the video data, and a camera location information holding unit that stores camera location information indicating the location of the surveillance camera. When displaying the video data from the first surveillance camera, which is the surveillance camera that detected the abnormal sound, the process includes determining whether there is movement or whether a person is visible in the video data at the timing included in the metadata, The aforementioned management terminal is If there is movement or a person is captured in the video data, the video data of the first surveillance camera is displayed on the display unit; if there is no movement and no person is captured in the video data, based on camera position information indicating the position of the surveillance camera, the video data of surrounding cameras, which are surveillance cameras around the first surveillance camera, is displayed on the display unit in addition to the video data of the first surveillance camera. A monitoring method that includes this.

6. A computer that controls a server and management terminal that are connected to multiple surveillance cameras via a network, When displaying video data from a first surveillance camera, which is the surveillance camera that detected an abnormal sound within the video data captured by the aforementioned surveillance camera, a display content determination unit determines whether there is movement or a person in the video data at the timing included in the metadata, which is information including the timing at which the abnormal sound occurred in the video data. A recording display control unit that, if there is movement or a person in the video data, displays the video data of the first surveillance camera on the display unit, and if there is no movement and no person in the video data, displays the video data of surrounding cameras, which are surveillance cameras around the first surveillance camera, on the display unit in addition to the video data of the first surveillance camera, based on camera position information indicating the position of the surveillance camera. A program to make it work.

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