Emergency Video Stream Aggregation Server with Privacy Transformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing video security systems face challenges in enabling secure, controlled sharing of video streams across disparate networks while maintaining privacy and access control, particularly for emergency services and private camera owners, as they need situational awareness across jurisdictional boundaries without compromising privacy or intellectual property rights.
Innovation Solution
A method that allows emergency service agencies to request and access transformed video streams from privately owned cameras, using a time-bound API and privacy settings, while ensuring that camera owners maintain control over who accesses their feeds and under what conditions, through a server that aggregates and streams video from multiple camera networks, using location indicia and authentication to manage access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If emergency services access video streams from private cameras across jurisdictional boundaries, then situational awareness is improved, but privacy and access control are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between private camera owners and emergency services. The server aggregates video streams from multiple cameras, applies privacy transformations (blurring, masking), and delivers processed streams to emergency services. This mediator enables cross-jurisdictional access while maintaining privacy controls and owner authorization, resolving the contradiction between information access and privacy protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes video stream parameters through transformation techniques such as blurring, masking, and selective obscuring of sensitive areas. These parameter modifications allow emergency services to access situational information while automatically protecting private information, thereby maintaining both situational awareness and privacy without compromising either side.
2Reliability
If camera owners share video streams with multiple networks, then emergency response effectiveness is improved, but control over access is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The server provides universal access to aggregated video streams from multiple camera networks through a single interface. Emergency services can access streams from any participating camera owner regardless of which network the camera belongs to, while camera owners maintain centralized control over their streams. This multi-functional system resolves the contradiction by enabling broad emergency access while preserving individual owner control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where camera owners receive notifications and maintain authorization control over which emergency services can access their streams. The server continuously manages access permissions, ensuring that camera owners retain control while enabling effective emergency response when authorized.
3Area of stationary object
If video streams are aggregated from disparate camera networks, then coverage area is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The server merges video streams from multiple disparate camera networks into a unified aggregation. By combining streams from different networks through a central server, the system achieves broad geographic coverage and comprehensive situational awareness while managing complexity centrally rather than requiring complex peer-to-peer integrations between networks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the complex task of multi-network integration by separating camera network management from emergency service access. Each camera network operates independently and connects to the server, which handles the complexity of aggregation, transformation, and distribution. This segmentation reduces overall system complexity while maintaining broad coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
A system provides a transformed video stream from, a publicly or privately owned and operated camera bearing on an in-scope location vicinity, to, a responding emergency service agency (ESA). A request from an emergency services agent's display terminal includes location indicia and elicits a map of cameras bearing on the location vicinity as well as other display terminals in the area. Upon request, an application programming interface enables a video stream to comply with the privacy and access settings of the camera owner/operators. A plurality of private and public security surveillance cameras is coupled to a server. Exterior/street view video images are streamed to the server which may contact an owner for emergency access. An emergency agency vehicle at a location has a display for a selected gallery of obfuscated exterior/street views from cooperative networks of public and private security cameras bearing on the vicinity of an incident.