Thermal-Guided Auto-Follow Tracking for False Target Recognition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drone systems that use both stereo and infrared cameras to track targets may falsely recognize similar features as the target, leading to incorrect identification, especially in environments with varying light conditions or when similar objects are present.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus and method that controls automatic following by using thermographic image data to identify a target with a characteristic temperature distribution, ensuring the target is within the shooting region, thereby reducing false recognition by adjusting the position and view of the RGB camera.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If both a stereo camera and an infrared camera are used to track a target, then the reliability of target tracking is improved, but the possibility of falsely recognizing something resembling the target as the target increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using different sensing modalities (visible light and infrared) for different aspects of target detection. The visible camera captures appearance features while the infrared camera captures thermal features, allowing each sensor to contribute its specialized capability to reduce false recognition while maintaining tracking reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit acts as an intermediary that processes and integrates information from both the visible camera and infrared camera. It compares features from both sensors and makes intelligent decisions about target identification, mediating between the two data sources to resolve conflicts and reduce false positives
2Device complexity
If target recognition is performed only by a stereo camera, then the device complexity is reduced, but the target may be lost in bright or dark environments or when similar objects are present
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the capabilities of visible light sensing and infrared sensing into a unified target tracking system. By combining the stereo camera and infrared camera data processing, the system achieves robust target recognition across varying lighting conditions while maintaining manageable device complexity through integrated control
3Adaptability or versatility
If both visible and infrared cameras are used for target tracking, then the adaptability to different lighting conditions is improved, but the possibility of false recognition increases when similar features are present in both images
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds the thermal dimension to the visual dimension by incorporating infrared sensing. This creates a multi-dimensional feature space where targets can be identified based on both visual appearance and thermal characteristics, improving adaptability to lighting conditions while reducing false recognition through the additional discriminative dimension
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
Effectively reduces the likelihood of mistakenly identifying similar objects as the target by incorporating thermographic data to precisely locate and track the target with a unique temperature signature, even in challenging lighting conditions.
Implementation Method 1
an infrared camera shooting an image in response to the command to start the automatic following to generate thermographic image data
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a control unit that controls automatic following with respect to a target in a shooting region for a visible image to cause the target located in a position corresponding to a characteristic temperature distribution included in thermographic image data to be included in the shooting region. The thermographic image data is data obtained by shooting an image in response to a command to start the automatic following.