Thermal Overlay for Dynamic Sensor Region Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multimedia environments face challenges in efficiently focusing sensor resources on regions of interest due to limitations in existing sensor technologies, leading to ambiguous data capture and false positives/negatives, especially in varying ambient light conditions.
Innovation Solution
Dynamic input fusion using thermal imaging to identify and segment regions of interest, adjusting sensor parameters and fields of view to enhance data processing and reduce ambiguity, by employing a thermal overlay to target sensors within optimal ranges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the resolution or sensitivity of sensors is increased to improve data capture quality, then the amount of data captured increases, but computational requirements and latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the sensor field of view into multiple regions of interest (ROIs) based on thermal imaging data. High-resolution sensing is applied only to identified ROIs while other regions use lower resolution, thereby reducing overall data volume and computational requirements while maintaining measurement precision where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by dynamically adjusting sensor resolution and sensitivity parameters for different spatial regions. Regions containing objects of interest receive high-resolution sensing resources, while empty or less important regions use reduced resolution, optimizing the balance between measurement precision and computational complexity.
2Productivity
If sensor resources are focused on specific regions to reduce data processing, then processing efficiency improves, but false positives and negatives increase in ambiguous conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges data from multiple sensor types (thermal imaging, RGB, depth sensors) to create a comprehensive view of the environment. This multi-sensor fusion improves object identification reliability by cross-validating detections across different sensor modalities, reducing false positives and negatives while maintaining processing efficiency through coordinated ROI identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses thermal imaging as an intermediary layer to pre-identify potential regions of interest before applying higher-resolution sensing. The thermal data acts as a mediator that guides subsequent high-resolution image processing, ensuring that computational resources are allocated to regions that actually contain objects of interest, thereby improving both efficiency and reliability.
3Productivity
If thermal imaging is used to identify regions of interest, then sensor resource allocation improves, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by updating thermal imaging-based ROI identification at controlled intervals rather than continuously. The system dynamically adjusts the frequency of thermal scanning based on scene stability and detected motion, reducing unnecessary thermal sensor activation while maintaining effective sensor resource allocation when objects of interest are present.
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 improves sensor performance by accurately focusing resources on objects of interest, reducing false positives/negatives and optimizing data processing, while conserving power and reducing computational requirements.
Implementation Method 1
A thermal imaging sensor locates a region of interest including an object of interest within predetermined infrared (IR) wavelengths
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor manager provides dynamic input fusion using thermal imaging to identify and segment a region of interest. Thermal overlay is used to focus heterogeneous sensors on regions of interest according to optimal sensor ranges and to reduce ambiguity of objects of interest. In one implementation, a thermal imaging sensor locates a region of interest that includes an object of interest within predetermined wavelengths. Based on the thermal imaging sensor input, the regions each of the plurality of sensors are focused on and the parameters each sensor employs to capture data from a region of interest are dynamically adjusted. The thermal imaging sensor input may be used during data pre-processing to dynamically eliminate or reduce unnecessary data and to dynamically focus data processing on sensor input corresponding to a region of interest.