Privacy-Preserving Heat Map Overlay for Video Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing monitoring systems struggle to simultaneously display customer activity situations over a predetermined period and at a specific moment using a single monitoring screen, while also ensuring customer privacy by avoiding confusion between heat map and mask images.
Innovation Solution
A monitoring apparatus and method that includes a position information acquirer, statistical information acquirer, first and second foreground image generators, and a moving image output controller to generate and superimpose activity situation images onto a background, with a display form regulator to prevent confusion between images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If heat map image and mask image are displayed together on the same monitoring screen, then both temporal statistical information and real-time activity information can be viewed simultaneously, but the images may confuse each other and reduce readability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the mask image semi-transparent rather than fully opaque, allowing the heat map image to be partially visible through the mask image. This localized change in transparency quality enables both images to convey information simultaneously without completely obscuring each other, resolving the contradiction between information completeness and readability.
2Loss of information
If mask image is made transparent to show heat map, then both images can be seen, but the mask image becomes less distinct and harder to identify
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs color changes by assigning distinct color schemes to the heat map image and mask image, and by using color intensity variations to indicate different levels of transparency. This allows the mask image to remain visually distinct and identifiable even when semi-transparent, while still permitting the heat map image to be visible underneath.
Data Source
AI summary
A person is detected from a moving image of the monitoring area, and position information on the person is acquired. Temporal statistical processing is performed on the position information, statistical information relating to a staying situation of the person is acquired in accordance with setting of a target period of time for the statistical processing, and thus a heat map moving image is generated. Furthermore, a mask image corresponding to a person image area is generated at every predetermined point in time based on the position information on the person. A monitoring moving image that results from superimposing the heat map image and the mask image onto a background image is generated and is output at every predetermined point in time.