Immersive Surveillance Camera Array for Uniform Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surveillance systems face challenges in providing both wide-area coverage and high resolution, often sacrificing situational awareness outside the field of view for detailed identification, and spatial resolution varies with distance and optical arrangement, making them unsuitable for target tracking and recognition.
Innovation Solution
An immersive surveillance system comprising an array of cameras with overlapping fields of view and a fisheye camera, processed by a system that maintains constant spatial resolution across the scene, allowing for 360-degree coverage and high-resolution imaging, along with a processor that registers and compresses image data for efficient bandwidth usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If conventional surveillance systems use cameras with individual pan/tilt/zoom mechanisms to provide wide-area coverage, then the field of view is widened, but the spatial resolution becomes insufficient for identifying individuals
Solution Approach 1:
The surveillance system is divided into multiple camera modules, each capturing a specific portion of the scene. These segmented views are then stitched together to form a complete high-resolution panoramic image, allowing each camera to maintain high resolution while collectively covering a wide area
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from traditional single-camera perspectives to a multi-dimensional array of cameras arranged in specific geometries. This spatial arrangement enables simultaneous wide-area coverage and high resolution by capturing multiple viewpoints that can be computationally stitched together
2Measurement precision
If conventional surveillance systems use cameras with individual pan/tilt/zoom mechanisms to provide high-resolution imaging, then the spatial resolution is improved, but the field of view becomes narrow and situational awareness is lost
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single camera with zoom capabilities, the system segments the surveillance task across multiple fixed cameras positioned at different locations. Each camera captures a localized high-resolution view, and the collective coverage provides comprehensive situational awareness across the entire area
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple camera views are merged through computational stitching to create a unified high-resolution panoramic representation of the entire scene. This combining process preserves the high resolution of individual cameras while achieving wide-area coverage that no single camera could provide alone
3Device complexity
If conventional surveillance systems use fixed optical arrangements, then the system structure is simplified, but the spatial resolution varies with distance to the target
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the scene are assigned different camera configurations based on their specific requirements. The system adapts the camera array geometry and computational processing to maintain uniform spatial resolution across all distances and locations, rather than using a one-size-fits-all optical arrangement
Data Source
AI summary
Security guards at big facilities, such as airports, monitor multiple screens that display images from individual surveillance cameras dispersed throughout the facility. If a guard zooms with a particular camera, he will lose image resolution, along with perspective on the surrounding area. Embodiments of the inventive Imaging System for Immersive Surveillance (ISIS) solve these problems by combining multiple cameras in one device. When properly mounted, example ISIS systems offer 360-degree, 100-megapixel views on a single screen. (Other resolutions may also be employed.) Image-stitching software merges multiple video feeds into one scene. The system also allows operators to tag and follow targets, and can monitor restricted areas and sound an alert when intruders breach them.