Alert Video Timeline Transitions for Surveillance Context Review
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current video surveillance systems lack efficient and informative user interfaces for presenting live and saved video feeds, providing inadequate context and control flow for users.
Innovation Solution
A method is implemented on an electronic device with a display and processors to display a user interface with separate regions for live video streams and timelines, allowing users to interactively navigate through video recordings by transitioning timelines and displaying subsets of video frames corresponding to different time periods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a conventional video surveillance interface is used, then the system is simple to implement, but the user interface provides inadequate context and control flow information
Solution Approach 1:
The user interface is segmented into multiple functional regions: a video display region showing live or recorded footage, a timeline region displaying temporal context with markers for events and alerts, and a controls region for user interactions. This segmentation allows each region to provide specific information without overwhelming the user, thereby reducing information loss while managing interface complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface adds a temporal dimension by incorporating a timeline visualization that displays video content across different time periods. This timeline dimension provides contextual information about when events occurred, what alerts were triggered, and allows users to navigate through recorded footage efficiently, thereby reducing information loss without proportionally increasing complexity.
2Ease of operation
If live video streams are displayed without timeline context, then the interface is simple, but users lack adequate control flow and temporal context
Solution Approach 1:
The timeline is pre-populated with markers indicating recorded events, alerts, and time-based segments before the user interacts with the interface. This preliminary organization of information allows users to immediately understand the control flow and temporal context without needing to manually explore or interpret raw video data, thereby improving ease of operation while justifying the increased interface structure.
3Loss of information
If the entire video duration is displayed at once, then users have complete context, but the interface becomes overwhelming and difficult to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The video timeline is segmented into manageable sections with visual markers indicating different time periods, recorded events, and alerts. Users can navigate through these segments systematically rather than being presented with an overwhelming continuous timeline, thereby maintaining video context while improving ease of navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface initially displays a partial view of the timeline focused on the most relevant or recent periods, with the option to expand or navigate to other time periods as needed. This partial display approach prevents information overload while maintaining the ability to access complete video context when required, thereby improving ease of operation without sacrificing video context.
Data Source
AI summary
A method at an electronic device with a display includes: displaying a user interface having a first region and a second region; receiving, and displaying in the first region of the user interface, a live video stream of a physical environment captured by a remote video camera; displaying, in the second region, a timeline corresponding to a timespan for a first portion of a duration during which the live video stream may have been recorded; in response to receiving a user interaction to move the timespan to a second portion of the duration, transitioning the displayed timeline to a new timeline that corresponds to the timespan for the second portion, and while transitioning, displaying, in the first region, a subset of video frames representing the first and/or second portion of the duration.