Hierarchical Camera Workspace for Rapid Multi-View Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
In Digital Video Management (DVM) systems with a large number of cameras, providing quick and convenient access to desired cameras is challenging, especially during incidents or emergencies, due to the complexity of managing camera access and relationships.
Innovation Solution
The system employs a hierarchical tree structure for camera management, allowing users to generate multi-camera views by selecting nodes, with video display objects configured to stream live video data. It also adjusts streaming rates based on camera visibility and uses relatedness scores to recommend relevant cameras, enabling efficient access and management of camera relationships.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a large number of cameras are managed in a DVM system, then comprehensive surveillance coverage is improved, but access speed and convenience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the large number of cameras into hierarchical groups and locations. Cameras are organized in a tree structure with locations as parent nodes and cameras as child nodes. This segmentation allows operators to access cameras by selecting a location node, which automatically filters and displays only the cameras within that location, dramatically reducing access time from browsing through hundreds of individual cameras to selecting a single location node.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces location nodes as intermediary elements between the operator and individual cameras. These location nodes act as mediators that aggregate multiple cameras under a single selectable entity. When an operator selects a location node, the system automatically retrieves and displays the cameras within that location, eliminating the need for operators to directly search through individual camera lists and significantly improving access speed.
2Quantity of substance
If comprehensive camera management is implemented, then surveillance capability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the complex camera management task into segmented, manageable components: locations as parent entities and cameras as child entities. This hierarchical segmentation transforms the overwhelming task of managing hundreds of cameras into simple location-based selection, where operators only need to understand the location structure rather than individual camera details, thereby reducing perceived and actual system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a spatial/location dimension to camera management. Instead of managing cameras as a flat, one-dimensional list, cameras are organized in a two-dimensional hierarchical structure with locations and cameras as separate levels. This dimensional change allows operators to navigate and manage cameras through location context, reducing complexity by providing a natural organizational framework that mirrors physical surveillance environments.
3Loss of information
If multiple cameras are displayed simultaneously, then situational awareness is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements partial action by displaying only a subset of cameras from the selected location simultaneously, rather than forcing operators to view all cameras at once. The interface allows operators to select specific cameras within a location to display, enabling them to focus on relevant cameras for the current situation. This partial display approach maintains situational awareness for targeted areas while avoiding the excessive bandwidth consumption of displaying all cameras in a large location.
Solution Approach 2:
The system makes the camera display dynamic and adaptable to user needs. Operators can dynamically select which cameras to display from the available cameras in a location, and the system adjusts the display accordingly. This dynamic approach allows situational awareness to be optimized for each specific situation while bandwidth consumption is adjusted to match the actual number of cameras being displayed, rather than continuously streaming all available cameras.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention overcomes or ameliorates at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art and provides a method for providing access to live video data from a plurality of cameras in a DVM system, the method including: maintaining data indicative of cameras in a hierarchical structure; receiving, from a user of a client terminal, a command indicative of: (i) an instruction to generate a multi-camera view; and (ii) a defined selection of cameras defined by reference to the hierarchical structure; in response to the command, defining a camera workspace view for rendering at the client terminal, wherein the camera workspace view is configured to provide a plurality of video display objects that are respectively configured to display live video data from the defined selection of cameras.