WO2008127194A1

WO2008127194A1 - Network camera monitoring and data sharing system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2008127194A1
Application number: PCT/SG2007/000098
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yu Zhou; Han Feng Zhao
Original assignee: Yu Zhou; Han Feng Zhao
Priority date: 2007-04-12
Filing date: 2007-04-12
Publication date: 2008-10-23

Abstract

A system and a method for network camera monitoring and control and data online sharing is disclosed to allow cameras to directly connect a network and provide various services to end users. An administration server is coupled to one or more camera servers via the network which can be a private network or a public network such as the Internet. Each camera server is further coupled with one or more cameras that are connected as clients through a network media source subsystem via the network. The network media source subsystem may be a network camera or the like. The administration server authenticates a user before the user can allow a user access to the camera from a web browser on a client workstation such as a personal computer or mobile phone. All functions may be integrated into one system or multiple systems of which each governs a function.

Description

NETWORK CAMERA MONITORING AND DATA SHARING SYSTEM AND METHOD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to network camera systems and methods, and more specifically, to network camera monitoring and digital media online sharing systems and methods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In current network camera systems utilizing network environments such as for example the Internet 8, a network camera 2 in the system contains a web server application that allows users to view and control the camera from client workstation 20(1) and 20(2) such as personal computers (PC) by using a web browser to connect the web server in the network camera. Such conventional systems are disclosed in United States Patent No. 6,954,859 and United States Patent No. 6,698,021. However, the conventional systems are not suitable in certain circumstances, for example when the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the network camera is not fixed (as shown in FlG. 1A) or the network camera is in a private network (as shown in FIG. 1B) or behind a firewall 6 (as shown in FIG. 1C). Also, the conventional systems are configured to be dedicated to a single network camera as described in the United States Patent No. 6,353,848.

If the network camera is in a private network as shown in FIG. 1B, the IP address of the camera can be used to access the camera within the private network only. However, the IP address cannot be readily obtained to initiate a connection to the camera from outside the private network. A user on a workstation 20 outside of the private network may initiate a connection to the camera if the Network Address Port Translation (NAPT) or Network Address Translation (NAT) is properly configured in the gateway which connects the private network and the public network. The configuration process is not simple for most users, and especially users who are not familiar with computer network knowledge. Even if the configuration is properly set, the IP address of the gateway may change from time to time. For example, an Internet service provider (ISP) may dynamically assign an IP address to the gateway.

If the network is behind a firewall 6 as shown in FIG. 1 C, the firewall may block the connection initiated by the application from the outside network. And if the IP address of the network camera is not fixed, the user cannot initiate a connection to the network camera without knowing the IP address of the network camera.

There is a need for a network camera monitoring and control system and method that addresses a drawback associated with conventional network camera systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an aspect there is provided a network camera system for monitoring and controlling a camera in a network, the system comprising: a network media source subsystem having a media source module for capturing data from a camera and a communications module for transmitting data and interfacing with the network; a camera server receiving and storing data received from the network media source subsystem; and an administrative server for authenticating users accessing the administrative server from a workstation for control of a camera, the administrative server assigning the camera server for the workstation of the user to access the camera via the camera server.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, multiple cameras may be accessible in the system. The network media source subsystems may take different configurations.

The camera may be a network camera comprising the media source module and the communications module of the network media source subsystem. The media source module and the communications module in the network media source subsystem may comprise a computer for receiving the data from the camera and transmitting the data to the camera server. The media source module and the communications module in the network media source subsystem may also comprise a gateway in communication with the camera server for accessing a camera via a communications network. Each network media source subsystem may have a plurality of cameras. The system may comprise a plurality of camera servers and/or authentication servers.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention there is provided a network camera comprising a media source module for capturing data and a communications module for transmitting data and interfacing with a camera network system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention there is provided method for monitoring and controlling a network camera in a network, the method comprising: capturing data from a camera on a network media source subsystem having a media source module for capturing the data; transmitting the data from a communications module in the network media source subsystem and interfacing with the network; receiving the transmitted data at a camera server for storing the data received from the network media source subsystem; authenticating at an administrative server a user requesting to access and control a camera in the network and assigning the camera server for the workstation of the user to access the camera via the camera server, selecting the camera server by the administrative server upon acceptance of authentication of the user and connecting the workstation with the selected camera server for accessing the data via the camera server.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In order that the present invention may be fully understood and readily put into practical effect, there shall now be described by way of non-limitative example only preferred embodiments of the present invention, the description being with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1A-C show schematic block diagrams of conventional network architectures with a network camera with an embedded web server, connected to the internet through a router, and located behind a firewall, respectively;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of network camera monitoring and control system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a sequence diagram of connection setup between a network camera and a camera server in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a sequence diagram of connection setup between a client workstation and a network camera via a camera server; in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 shows a sequence diagram of connection setup for a peer-to-peer configuration between a client workstation and a network camera in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a workstation in the system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 7A shows a block diagram of a camera server in the system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7B shows a block diagram of an administration server in the system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a network camera in the system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 9-17 show exemplary graphical user interface (GUI) displays in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A system 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 2. The system 10 comprises of an administration server 16, at least one camera server 14 (1....4), collectively 14, and at least one network media source subsystem 25 comprising a camera and network interface. One network media source subsystem is a network camera 12 (1....4), collectively 12. Another network media source subsystem 25 is a camera 12(5) connected via a computer 24 with a virtual network camera software process, and/or a camera resident on a mobile phone 19 communicating the camera server 14 via a gateway in a mobile telecommunications network. There may be a plurality of cameras in a network media source subsystem 25. For illustrative purposes, the network camera 12 and the camera server 14 may be interconnected via private network for example LAN or a public network for example the Internet 8. The camera server 14 and the administration server is, however, interconnected via a private network for example LAN or via other public network such as internet. A user accesses with a client workstation 20 (1 3), collectively 20, the administration server 16 via a public network for example the Internet. The client workstation may be a PC or other device such as a cellular phone or PDA with a browser, WAP capabilities to access the administration server and other components of the system 10. It will also be appreciated that the camera server 14 and administration server 16 can be integrated into one server, as shown by dashed box 22 in FIG. 2, however, for illustrative purpose the functionalities of each server described are as separate servers. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It is apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details or with equivalent arrangements. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.

The network camera 12 comprises a video/image capturing module 52 and a network communication module 62 as shown in FIG. 8. The two modules may be in one enclosure, or in two different enclosures with some interface there between. The camera may be connected not only to the network, but also a computer 24 via other connection, such as universal serial bus (USB), firewire, serial, parallel, blue tooth or the like, as shown in FIG. 2. The network camera 12 also comprises a memory 66, such as a nonvolatile memory such as flash. The camera 12 may have transmitter and receiver module 56, a PC interface 58 and a microcontroller 64 for controlling a motor 68. Each network camera may have a camera ID and an activation pin. A user can create an account with the chosen user name and password in the website of the system, then the user can add a camera by entering the camera ID and the activation pin. The data captured by the network camera may be video, images, audio, digital media or the like.

The camera server 14 as shown in FIG. 7A controls the network cameras and stores in data storage 82 audio, video and image captured and received from the network camera. The processor 86 performs the functions within the camera server 14 and receives and transmits the images/files from interface module 87 and may be sent via camera server or administration server to the browser, e-mail, SMS, MMS and the like.

The administration server 16 as shown in FIG. 7B contains a web server program 94 and authenticates a user with processor 96 before the user may access the network cameras 12 via camera server 14 from a browser running on the client workstation 20. The web server 84 may also reside on camera server 14. The web server 84,94 may later detach from the administration server, for example, in the case when the public may access the realtime images/video such as in the application of internet shopping. The administration server authenticates a user using user name and password in user account storage 91. Path information storage 92 may also store information on the path of the images from network camera to the specific camera server it is stored on and the workstation the images are linked. The administration server may have a camera server assignment information storage 98 for storing information about the camera server assigned for each camera. The user may have different access levels, such as view-only and full control depending on predefined circumstances or scenarios. For example, for access level view- only, the user can only view the photos or video captured by the camera, while for access level full-control, the user can control the pan-tilt-zoom position of the camera. A database (not shown) may store user names and passwords, such as hash string or hash string of passwords, and also may provide the access level details of the cameras associated for registered users. The administration server may also store the IP address of the network camera and/or the other components of the system such as work stations camera servers, other administration servers, that may be changing dynamically. The administration server may grant the user a direct connection between the camera server 14 and the client workstation 12. The administration server may also grant the user a peer-to-peer connection between the camera 12 and the client workstation 20. With this connection, the user may view and control the camera 12 directly bypassing the camera server 14. With this configuration, the camera server and/or network server may be dynamically chosen and selected.

The workstation 20(2), and/or computer 24, share a similar configuration as shown in FIG. 6, as computer 70, and comprises an input device 71 such as an alpha numeric keyboard or mouse for inputting information and a display 72 for displaying information connected via multiplexer 73 and controlled by processor 72. The computer 20(2),24 contains RAM 74, ROM 75 and an interface module 77 for communicating with other components of the system.

A mobile phone with camera 19 may be connected to the system via a gateway 17. The gateway communicates with the mobile phone through the mobile telecommunication network such as 3G mobile network, and the gateway 17 communicates with a camera server 14(1) using public netowrk such as the Internet or private network such as LAN. There is a software process called virtual network camera running in the gateway for each mobile phone connected to the gateway. There may be a plurality of mobile phones and a plurality of cameras within a network media source subsystem 25. The virtual network camera software process communicates with a camera server in the same way as a real network camera. That is, from the perspective of the camera server, the virtual network camera software process is like that of a network camera. The virtual network camera software process receives data, such as video, audio, or other digital media, from the mobile phone and sends the video to the camera server, as with a network camera. The phone number may be used to form a camera ID for the virtual camera software process, and the activation pin may be sent to the mobile phone for example when the user adds the mobile phone to account of the user. A virutal network camera software process running in a computer 24 may communicate with a camera server 14(2) to tramsmit video, audio or image in the same way as a real network camera 12(5). The virtual network camera process mainly consist of two modules: the media source module 52 and network communication module 54. The media 5 source module is able to take video, audio or image from various source such as webcam, microphone, or from media files in the computer; and the network communication module communicate with the adminstration server, camera server to transmit the video, audio or image from the media source module.

l o When there are multiple viewing client workstations 20(1-3) accessing a video, they may assist each other to get content of the video. For example, if client workstation A 20(1 ) requires a portion of the video, and the portion of video is available in client workstation B 20(2)which obtains the video from the camera server or another client workstation C 20(3), then client workstation A may obtain the video portion from client workstation B

15 20(2) instead of obtaining that portion from the camera server.

In operation, when the network camera 12 is powered on, and the network camera is connected to the network by the user, the network camera initiates 202 a connection with the administration server 16, as shown in sequence diagram of FIG. 3, to get camera

20 server IP address. The camera may be directly (not shown) or indirectly connected (as shown in FIG. 2) with the administration server. The administration server's name or IP address is recovered or stored from a previous connection in the memory of the network camera. A default IP address of the administration server may be stored inside the nonvolatile memory of the camera during production of part of the firmware. User may also

25 change the IP address of the administration server from the PC when the camera is connected to the PC. The administration server 16 analyzes the available camera servers and decides and then selects which camera server 14 is suitable to handle the connection with the network camera 12. The selection criteria the administration server conducts to select which camera server to select can be based on load, i.e. the administration server

30 chooses a server with the minimum number of the cameras currently connected, or on location, i.e. a server that is closest to the camera, or network delay, i.e. a server that has the shortest network delay, or bandwidth, i.e. a server that has the highest available bandwidth available to the camera, or with a combination of some or all the above criteria or other criteria. After administration server selects the selected camera server 14, the

35 administrative server sends 204 the IP address of the camera server to the network camera. After receiving the IP address of the selected camera server, the network camera initiates 206 a connection to the selected camera server. The camera server accepts the connection request 208. It will be appreciated that the IP address or the server name of the administration server and/or the selected camera server is stored in the non-volatile memory, for example a memory such a flash memory, of the network camera. The IP address of the selected camera server and/or the administration server may be updated via the camera server when the camera is connected to the network or using a computer software when the camera is connected to a PC desktop 24 as shown in FIG. 2. In an embodiment, there may be for example more than one service provider providing the service, running an administration server and some camera servers, or in another embodiment there may be a back administration server which is used to take over the control when the current server requires an upgrade.

FIG. 4 shows a sequence diagram of the connection setup between the client workstation 20 and network camera 12 via the camera server 14. As described above, the user on the client workstation logs in 210 with the user name and password and the administration server authenticates the user. Once authenticated 212 by the authentication server, the user initiates connection 214 with the camera server, and the camera server accepts 216 the user's connection request. The user may then access the video or images 218 stored in a database or memory (not shown) of the camera server 14. The camera server then requests 220 video or images from the network camera and the network camera sends 220 the video or images to the camera server. Upon receipt, the camera server then transmits 224 the requested video or images to the client workstation 20.

Referring to FIG. 5, the peer-to-peer connection setup between the client workstation and the network camera is shown. As described above, the user on the client workstation logs in 222 with the user name and password and the administration server authenticates 224 the user. Once authenticated, the user initiates 226 a connection with the camera server, and the camera server accepts 228 the user's connection request. The camera server instructs 230 the client workstation to open a network port (P) to accept connection and the client workstation listening 232 on the port (P) then the camera server connects 234 the network camera and the client work station on port (P). The network camera initiates 235 a connection on port (P), and the workstation accepts 238 a connection a request. The user on the client workstation may then request 238 to receive 242 images or video directly from the network camera. It will be appreciated that the discussion of network camera embodiment of the network media source subsystem 25 discussed above with reference to FIG. 3-5 may be applied to other configurations of the network media source subsystems 25 as shown in FIG. 2.

The network cameras containing web server or other server program is hard to use over the public network such as the Internet. An object of the system is to provide easy Plug- and-Hop (plug-and-user or plug-and-use) feature. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the system 10 may comprise additional sensors, such as an intruder detection sensor 18 having an infra-red sensor and/or motion sensors, sound detection, and/or thermal sensors, Additionally, an alarm notification may be provided via e-mail, SMS, paging, and the like.

Additionally, in another embodiment storage is assigned to the user to store image/video files. The image/video files resulted from scheduled recording and are stored there in real time. ^{" "}

In operation, the following graphic user interfaces may be implemented as shown in FIG. 9-17. Referring to the GUI 100 of FIG. 9, the user logs in the system using user name and password. In FIG. 10, the camera detail panel 110 is shown. After user logs in, the camera detail panel will be shown, as shown in FIG. 10. On the panel, user may select to perform the following actions from the action list: add a camera, transfer a camera, share a camera, view video/images, and schedule a recording. All the cameras owned by the user or shared to the user are shown in the camera list. The user may choose a view a camera, share a camera or the schedule a recording in the camera list. The user may select the camera to view the details of the camera. The details panel shows the name of the camera, access level, and the share details. The share details panel shows the list of the user that are sharing the camera. The user may choose to modify the share information, such as changing the access level, and the sharing period. And the user may choose not to share the camera with a user.

Referring to the add camera dialog GU! 120 shown in FIG. 11 , to add a camera, user has to enter the camera ID and activation PIN. The user has an option to give a name to the camera, so it's easy to remember and identify as the number of cameras becomes more and more. The camera name may be unique within this user's camera list. The camera name does not have to be unique in the worldwide. This enables the user to manage the camera easier. If he has a few cameras, the user can name the cameras using the following names respectively: living_cam, kitchen_cam, backyard_cam, etc. Camera name is optional. It is for display purpose only. If the camera name is not specified, the camera ID will be displayed as camera name. A camera may be added to a user account only when it has not been activated. Once a camera is added one user account, the camera may not be added to other user accounts using the camera ID and activation PIN. If a user wants to transfer the ownership and control to another user, engages the transfer camera function.

To transfer a camera to another user, as shown in GUI 124 of FIG. 12, a user may select the camera ID or camera name of the camera that the user currently owns or controls from the dropdown menu, and enter the user account of the user whom the camera will be transferred to, then click the transfer button. The transfer notification will be sent to the other user. Once the other user acknowledges the transfer transaction, the camera may be transferred to the other user, that is, the camera will be deleted from the current owner's list and added into the list of the other user. Before the other user acknowledges the transaction, the current owner is still able to cancel the camera transfer transaction.

A user may share a camera to another user using the camera ID or camera name, and another user's user account, as represented in camera share dialog GUI 130 shown in FIG. 13. A user may also select an access level which may be: full control or view. "Full Control" means the user may control the camera (e.g. pan, tilt, and zoom) and view the video and images from the camera. And the user may select the sharing period of the camera. The user may choose to share the camera for the current session only. When the user logs off, the sharing will stop. The user may choose to share the camera permanently. The sharing will stop when the user cancels the sharing from the camera details pane (FIG. 10). After user presses the share button, the camera may be shared to the specified user without that user's acknowledgement.

When user shares a camera, the user may choose to share it to a group of users (similar to Yahoo group) or share it to the public. The user may enter the group name in the "To User" field.

The owner may assign give a name to the camera for sharing. And on the owner's camera list, the camera shared should have some kind of identifier, for example changing to color of the icon of the camera on the display such as for example making the camera name red. The use can add some description. And the user may also share some of the recorded photos and videos. This may be useful for cases such as cameras installed in the parks. The user may add and edit the information after the camera is shared. Referring to the view image/video window GU1 140 shown in FIG. 14, a user may view live video/image from camera. To view a camera, select a camera from the camera list. The user may drag the camera name from the list to the panel to view a camera as well. If the user has full control on the camera, the user may user the control buttons below the video/image display to control orientation of the camera, zoom in or zoom out. A feature of displaying content of multiple cameras will be implemented. That is, user may select multiple cameras from the camera list, and the video/image display will show the video/images from the selected cameras. The user is able highlight the camera on the display area to control the camera. When a camera is highlighted, the control buttons will be enabled or disabled according the access level. If the user has full control on the highlighted camera, the control will be enabled; otherwise, the buttons will be disabled.

The view recorded images and video clips GU1 150 shown in FIG. 15, it is possible to view the recorded video clips or images, user can select a camera ID or camera name from the dropdown list. After the user selects a camera ID or camera name, the video clips or images drop will be updated. Then the user can select a video clip or image from the dropdown list. The details of the video clip or image will be shown in the details panel. If the user selects a video clip, the user can use the control button to play, pause or stop the clip. The sliding bar on the left shows the percentage of the clip that has been played. If the user selects an image, the control button and the sliding bar will be disabled.

To schedule a recording, the user may select a camera ID or camera name from the camera dropdown list, specify the schedule date and time, and the duration of the recording, as shown in GU1 160 of FIG. 16. The user may choose to record the content of the camera in video or image format. If the recording is in video format, the user may specify the frame rate, for example, 30 frames per second. If the recording is in image format, the user can specify how many images is stored per second. The storage space of the recording is calculated based on the user's selection and shown as estimated size. The storage currently available is shown. And the maximum recording period allowed is also calculated and shown on the dialog. If the duration specified by the user exceeds the maximum period, the system will warn the user. The system allows the user to specify a name for the recording. So the file is saved with that name. It's easier for the user later to know what is recorded in each file. And the system has a description field to allow user to input the information. And this description field is displayed in view window.

Trigger recording dialog GU1 170 shown in FIG. 17 shows to trigger a recording. The user may select a camera ID or camera name from the camera dropdown list, specify the trigger should be by the sensors, or the change of the content capture by the camera, or both. The user may specify the duration of the recording then the camera is triggered. The user can choose to record the content of the camera in video or image format. If the recording is in video format, the user can specify the frame rate, for example, 30 frames per second. If the recording is in image format, the user may specify how many images is stored per second.

It will be appreciated that embodiments of the invention are described in a general description of a suitable computing environment in which embodiments of the invention may be implemented. General context of computer executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a personal computer is described. Generally, program modules include programs, routines, characters, components, data structure, that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multi processor systems, microprocessor based or program mobile user electronics, network personal computers, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In such distributed computing environments, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Additionally, the devices and subsystems of the exemplary methods and systems described with respect to FIGs. 1-17 can communicate, for example, over a communication network, and can include any suitable servers, workstations, personal computers (PCs), laptop computers, handheld devices, with visual displays and/or monitors, telephones, cellular telephones, wireless devices, PDAs, Internet appliances, set top boxes, modems, other devices, and the like, capable of performing the processes of the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The devices and subsystems, for example, may communicate with each other using any suitable protocol and may be implemented using a general-purpose computer system and the like. One or more interface mechanisms may be employed, for example, including Internet access, telecommunications in any suitable form, such as voice, modem, and the like, wireless communications media, and the like. Accordingly, network may include, for example, wireless communications networks, cellular communications network, Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTNs), Packet Data Networks (PDNs), the Internet, intranets, hybrid communications networks, combinations thereof, and the like. It is to be understood that the embodiments, as described with respect to FIGs. 1-17, are for exemplary purposes, as many variations of the specific hardware used to implement the disclosed exemplary embodiments are possible. For example, the functionality of the devices and the subsystems of the embodiments may be implemented via one or more programmed computer system or devices. To implement such variations as well as other variations, a single computer system may be programmed to perform the functions of one or more of the devices and subsystems of the exemplary systems. On the other hand, two or more programmed computer systems or devices may be substituted for any one of the devices and subsystems of the exemplary systems. Accordingly, principles and advantages of distributed processing, such as redundancy, replication, and the like, also may be implemented, as desired, for example, to increase robustness and performance of the exemplary systems described with respect to FIGs. 1-17.

The exemplary systems described with respect to FIGs. 1-17 may be used to store information relating to various processes described herein. This information may be stored in one or more memories, such as hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, RAM, and the like, of the devices and sub-systems of the embodiments. One or more databases of the devices and subsystems may store the information used to implement the exemplary embodiments. The databases may be organized using data structures, such as records, tables, arrays, fields, graphs, trees, lists, and the like, included in one or more memories, such as the memories listed above.

All or a portion of the exemplary systems described with respect to FIGs. 1-17 may be conveniently implemented using one or more general-purpose computer systems, microprocessors, digital signal processors, micro-controllers, and the like, programmed according to the teachings of the disclosed exemplary embodiments. Appropriate software may be readily prepared by programmers of ordinary skill based on the teachings of the disclosed exemplary embodiments. In addition, the exemplary systems may be implemented by the preparation of application-specific integrated circuits or by interconnecting an appropriate network of component circuits. Advantageously, the exemplary embodiments described herein may be employed in offline systems, online systems, and the like, and in applications, such as TV applications, computer applications,

DVD applications, VCR applications, appliance applications, CD play applications, and the like. While there has been described in the foregoing description preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the technology concerned that many variations or modifications in details of design or construction may be made without departing from the scope or purview of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A network camera system for monitoring and controlling a camera in a network, the system comprising: a network media source subsystem having a media source module for capturing data from a camera and a communications module for transmitting data and interfacing with the network; a camera server receiving and storing data received from the network media source subsystem; and an administrative server for authenticating users accessing the administrative server from a workstation for control of a camera, the administrative server assigning the camera server for the workstation of the user to access the camera via the camera server.

2. A network camera system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the camera is a network camera comprising the media source module and the communications module of the network media source subsystem.

3. A network camera system as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the media source module and the communications module in the network media source subsystem comprise a computer for receiving the data from the camera and transmitting the data to the camera server.

4. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the media source module and the communications module in the network media source subsystem comprise a gateway in communication with the camera server for accessing a camera via a communications network.

5. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the network media source subsystem comprises a plurality of cameras.

6. A network camera system as claimed in claim any one of the preceding claims wherein the camera with the network media source subsystem initiates contact with the administration server.

7. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the camera server and the administration server share a common central server.

8. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the workstation is a mobile phone.

9. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the workstation is a personal computer.

10. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the network media source subsystem includes an intruder detector.

1 1. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the camera is resident on a mobile phone.

12. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the system comprises a plurality of network media source subsystems in communication with the camera server.

13. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the system comprises a plurality of camera servers.

14. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the system comprises a plurality of administration servers.

15. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the workstation and the camera with the network media source subsystem communicate via peer-to-peer communication.

16. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims further comprising a plurality of workstations of users authenticated by the administration server wherein each workstation communicates via peer-to-peer for accessing data.

17. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the IP address of the camera server is transmitted to the network media source subsystem from the administration server.

18. A network camera system wherein as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the IP address of the administration server is stored in a memory in the network media source subsystem.

19. A network camera system wherein as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the system communicates via a public network.

20. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the system communicates via a private network.

21. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the ownership of the camera is transferred from one user account to another user account.

22. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the network camera unit is shared by a user with another user.

23. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising a plurality of workstations and the data from a camera broadcast to each of the workstations.

24. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein path data of the workstation, camera server and the camera of the network media source subsystem is stored in a database on the administration server.

25. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein path data of the stored data is stored in a storage database on the administration server.

26. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the data is video image data.

27. A network camera system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the data is audio data.

28. A network camera comprising a media source module for capturing data and a communications module for transmitting data and interfacing with a camera network system in accordance with any one of claims 1-26.

29. A method for monitoring and controlling a network camera in a network, the method comprising: capturing data from a camera on a network media source subsystem having a media source module for capturing the data; transmitting the data from a communications module in the network media source subsystem and interfacing with the network; receiving the transmitted data at a camera server for storing the data received from the network media source subsystem; authenticating at an administrative server a user requesting to access and control a camera in the network and assigning the camera server for the workstation of the user to access the camera via the camera server, selecting the camera server by the administrative server upon acceptance of authentication of the user and connecting the workstation with the selected camera server for accessing the data via the camera server.

30. A method as claimed in claim 29 wherein initiating camera contact with the network is initiated from the communications module of the network media source subsystem to the administration server.

31. A method as claimed in claim 29 or 30 wherein the camera is a network camera comprising the media source module and the communications module of the network media source subsystem.

32. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-31 wherein the media source module and the communications module in the network media source subsystem comprise a computer for receiving the data from the camera and transmitting the data to the camera server.

33. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-32 wherein the media source module and the communications module in the network media source subsystem comprise a gateway in communication with the camera server for accessing a camera via a communications network.

34. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-33 wherein receiving a data at the media source module from a plurality of cameras within the network media source subsystem.

35. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-34 wherein the camera server and the administration server share a common central server.

36. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-35 wherein the workstation is a mobile phone.

37. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-36 wherein the workstation is a personal computer.

38. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-37 wherein the network media source subsystem includes an intruder detector.

39. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-38 further comprising accessing a camera via a gateway via a communication network in communication with the camera server.

40. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-39 wherein the camera is resident on a mobile phone.

41. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-40 wherein the system comprises a plurality of cameras in communication with the camera server.

42. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-41 wherein the system comprises a plurality of camera servers.

43. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-42 wherein the system comprises a plurality of administration servers.

44. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-43 wherein the workstation and the camera with the network media source subsystem communicate via peer-to-peer communication.

45. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-44 wherein the method further comprises authenticating a plurality of workstations authenticated by the administration server wherein each workstation communicates via peer-to-peer for accessing data.

46. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-45 transmitting the IP address of the camera server to the network media source subsystem from the administration server.

47. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-46 storing the IP address of the administration server in a memory within the network media source subsystem.

48. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-47 wherein communicating in the system is via a public network.

49. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-48 wherein communicating in the system is via a private network.

50. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-49 further comprising transferring a camera from one user account to another user account.

51. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-50 further comprising sharing the camera by the user with another user.

52. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-51 further comprising broadcasting the data from a camera to a plurality of workstations.

53. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-52 further comprising storing path data of the workstation, camera server and the camera of the network media source subsystem in a storage database on the administration server.

54. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29-53 further comprising storing path data of the stored data in a storage database on the administration server.

55. A method as claimed in any one of the claims 29-54 where in the data is video image data.

56. A method as claimed in any one of the claims 29-55 where in the data is audio data.