Monitoring System Obstacle Exclusion Height Map

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing monitoring systems, such as people counting systems, face errors due to obstacles within the surveillance area that are similar in height to moving objects or people, causing them to merge in height maps and leading to incorrect counting or detection issues.

Innovation Solution

A method that involves recording a height map with no objects or people present, identifying imperfections caused by obstacles, defining a detection area where these imperfections are excluded, and setting the evaluation unit to only assess movements within this area, effectively isolating obstacles from the evaluation process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Area of stationary object

If the monitoring system evaluates the entire surveillance area including obstacles, then complete coverage is achieved, but detection accuracy deteriorates due to merging of obstacles and moving objects in height maps

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesurveillance area coverageVSAvoiddetection accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The surveillance area is segmented into a detection area and a non-detection area based on obstacle identification. The evaluation unit is configured to process only the detection area, separating the monitoring function from obstacle regions to prevent false detections while maintaining coverage of the relevant area.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different quality requirements are applied to different regions of the surveillance area. The detection area receives full evaluation processing for high accuracy, while the non-detection area containing obstacles is excluded from evaluation, allowing the system to optimize detection accuracy in critical regions without being compromised by obstacle interference elsewhere.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If obstacles are included in the height map evaluation, then complete scene monitoring is achieved, but counting reliability deteriorates due to merging of obstacles and people

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecounting reliabilityVSAvoiddepth information interference
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

Obstacles are identified and extracted from the surveillance area during the configuration phase. The evaluation unit is then configured to exclude these extracted obstacle regions from movement detection and counting operations, removing the source of depth information interference that causes counting errors while preserving reliable detection in obstacle-free zones.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Measurement precision

If the detection area is reduced to exclude obstacles, then detection accuracy improves, but surveillance coverage is limited

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedetection accuracyVSAvoidsurveillance coverage
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adapts the detection area configuration based on the identified obstacle locations. Rather than using a fixed reduced area, the detection area is defined as the portion of the surveillance area that excludes obstacle regions, allowing maximum coverage of usable space while maintaining high detection accuracy in the configured detection zone.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This approach prevents interference from irrelevant depth information, enhancing the accuracy of object or people counting by ensuring obstacles are not reflected in the recorded height maps, thereby improving detection precision and reducing errors.

Implementation Method 1

The height maps can be obtained, for example, using a stereo camera of the surveillance system, in that stereo images recorded with the stereo camera are evaluated to determine depth information

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectStereo vision: Parallax

Data Source

PatentEP2619738B1Method for configuring a monitoring system and configurable monitoring system
Publication Date: 2018.01.17 HELLA GMBH & CO KGAA
  • EP2619738B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2619738B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2619738B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for configuring a monitoring system which is based on a recording of altitude maps, comprising the following steps: - an altitude map of a monitored area is recorded with the monitoring system in a state in which no objects or persons to be detected are located in the monitored area, - determination of destruction points (5), caused by obstacles (4), in the altitude map which is recorded in this way, - definition of a detection area (8) as a component area of the altitude map in such a way that all the disruption points (5), or at least some of said disruption points (5), lie outside the detection area (8), - setting of an evaluation unit (2) of the monitoring system such that it only evaluates movements within the detection area (8). The invention also relates to a correspondingly configurable monitoring system.