JP2003317167A - Crime-preventive and disaster-preventive network system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a crime-preventive and disaster-preventive network system which can minimize damage due to crimes and disasters by enhancing monitor precision without invading user's privacy and assisting initial criminal investigation by the police and fire fighting activities by firemen. <P>SOLUTION: The system comprises; an image sensor which detects whether there is change in a monitor area by comparing images obtained by constantly photographing the monitor area temporally and can transmit an image after the detected change through a communication network; an information terminal which is connected to the image sensor through the communication network and can receive and display the images before and after the change; and a server which holds and stores the images before and after the change. The image after the change can be downloaded only when notice of permission is given from the information terminal. Third parties includes the police, a firehouse, and a security company which can cope with abnormal states. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a crime prevention / disaster prevention system that extracts a change in a surveillance area as image information and notifies the user of the change. The present invention relates to a network configuration that enables police and fire departments to browse the image information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a digital video camera has been installed in a surveillance area, digital images captured by the camera are compared in frame units or time units, and if the difference is a certain value or more, it is determined that there is a change. Then, a crime prevention / disaster prevention system configured to report this is known. Note that the image may be acquired as digital data from the beginning, or may be acquired as analog data and then digitally converted and processed. At this time, if the difference change of the image is a point image change of a pixel, a change in the monitoring area can be detected as an intrusion of a suspicious person, and if the color change of the pixel is a fire, the change can be detected. And, when the change is detected, the report destination is generally a security company, and the security company receiving the report is dispatched to the site,
It means taking necessary measures.

[0003]

However, in the conventional system, even if it is possible to detect the intrusion of a person or the change in the scenery in the surveillance area, it is not confirmed what it is, so that some It may include false alarms that have nothing to do with crime or disaster. As described above, the conventional system has a problem in that it does not have a means for confirming the presence or absence of an erroneous report and is forced to be dispatched unnecessarily. To solve this, it may be possible to confirm with the user after detecting a change in the monitoring area, but if this is the case, there is a fundamental problem that the user cannot deal with the notification that occurs when he / she is out.

It is also possible to transmit a video or image of the scene to the security company at the same time as the notification, and according to this,
A security company can monitor the images and the like to accurately grasp the situation at the site. However, it is preferable to avoid uniform transmission of the image of the scene to the security company because it poses a user privacy problem.

By the way, at present, small-sized and high-performance portable information terminals having a communication function, such as portable telephones and PDAs, have been put into practical use and rapidly spread. In addition to this, distribution technology for moving images and still images using the Internet has also been established. In recent years, in particular, a technique has been established in which specific files and data are transmitted and received between specific persons by applying electronic mail. According to this technique, digital images can be transmitted and received while being prevented from being viewed by a third party.

Under the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention enhances the monitoring accuracy in a state where it does not interfere with the privacy of the user, and assists the police's initial investigation and fire fighting's initial fire extinguishing activities to minimize the damage caused by crime or disaster. The purpose is to provide a crime prevention / disaster prevention network system that can be held to the limit.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention detects the presence or absence of change in the surveillance area by comparing images obtained by constantly photographing the surveillance area before and after the detection, An image sensor capable of transmitting the changed image via a communication network, an information terminal connected to the image sensor via the communication network, capable of receiving and displaying the changed image, and A means for constructing a crime prevention / disaster prevention network system that consists of a server that stores and stores changed images, and that can download changed images from the server only when there is a permission notification from the information terminal . In the present invention, the information terminal is assumed to be owned by a service consumer (user) of this system, and the information terminal is defined to include a mobile phone and a PDA (claim 5). Further, the third party is defined to include an organization such as a police, fire department, or a security company capable of coping with an abnormal situation (claim 4).

Further, in claim 2, the permission notification is sent from the information terminal to the server, and the server transmits the changed image to a third party.

Further, in claim 3, the permission notice includes a password, and only the third party who has acquired the password from the information terminal can download the changed image on the server.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the configuration of the present invention, in which 1 is an image sensor for detecting a change in a monitoring area by image recognition processing such as a difference method, and 2 is a user of the system. The mobile information terminal includes an image sensor 1 and a mobile information terminal 2.
Have communication functions, and both are connected via a communication network 3 such as the Internet. 4 is a server that stores and stores the image data acquired by the image sensor 1.
Is a centralized report management center for public organizations such as police and fire departments or private organizations such as security companies.

Here, the image sensor 1 is, as described above,
It is a means for detecting a change in the monitoring method in real time by acquiring a captured image of the monitoring area as digital data by an image recognition technique such as a difference method and comparing the captured image in frame units or time units. Since the applicant of the present application has already applied for an image sensor capable of implementing this (Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-16749) and can employ a known technique, detailed description thereof will be omitted. However, at this time, if the comparison target is a point image change of a pixel, a new point image is generated at the coordinates due to the presence of a new object in the monitoring area, and the change area is a certain value or more. If so, this can be determined as a person, and it can be defined that there has been a trespass. On the other hand, if the comparison target is a change in color, when there is a fire in the monitoring area, the color of the pixel at the coordinates changes depending on the color of flame or smoke, and the occurrence of fire can be detected. In addition, the comparison target of the image is
It may be either the presence or absence of a point image or a change in color,
It is also possible to process both in parallel. Furthermore, it is possible to capture a wide-angle image of the surveillance area at the beginning, and if a change is detected, the coordinate area where the change has occurred can be enlarged by a zoom-in function of the camera, etc., and finally an enlarged image can be acquired. .

The flow of the network system of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described. First, the image sensor 1 is installed in a desired surveillance area such as a front door, and the surveillance area is monitored, for example, for 24 hours. When an object enters the surveillance area, the image sensor 1 detects the change in the form of point image increase of pixels. Then, if the changed coordinate area is within a certain range, the object is determined to be a person. Even if the person can be determined, it is possible to perform processing such that the person is not treated as a suspicious person unless the intrusion time elapses for a certain time or longer. This is because there is a possibility of a person unrelated to the crime, such as a mere passerby.

Under these conditions, if the object that has entered the surveillance area is determined to be a suspicious person, the image sensor 1 appropriately enlarges the image and acquires an image of the person. The image acquired at this time is not limited to one image, and may be a plurality of images. The image thus obtained is reported to the user's portable information terminal 2 via the communication network 3 in the form of an abnormal situation. The image is also transmitted to the server 4 and stored / stored in the server 4 together with index information such as a shooting location and a shooting time. Further, when a plurality of monitoring areas are set by installing a plurality of image sensors 1 in the same address, the installation location of the image sensor 1 is saved together with the device number of the sensor. Further, a password process is performed when the image is saved, and a password is required to be input when the image is browsed to prevent illegal browsing by a third party. The password is an arbitrary number given to each user, and can be decided by the system provider or the user when setting the contract of this system.

Next, the image transmitted to the portable information terminal 2 can be monitored by the user who knows that the image sensor 1 has received a notification from the display of the terminal 2. For the image transmission / reception and browsing technique during this period, an attachment file format or the like in a conventional electronic mail can be adopted. However, the image transmission / reception method may be such that the image is received at the terminal 2 at the same time as the notification, or the image is downloaded to the terminal 2 only when the user selects.

As described above, the user confirms the situation of the situation with his / her own eyes based on the image transmitted from the image sensor 1 by the portable information terminal 2, and whether the notification to the centralized report management center 5 is necessary or not. Can be determined. That is,
The user can judge whether or not to make a report to the centralized report management center 5 based on his / her memory such as whether the person in the image is familiar or whether the color change in the image corresponds to a fire. it can. As described above, according to this system, since the user is involved in the situation determination on the spot, the situation related to the report can be grasped most accurately, and the image is uniquely transmitted directly to the user. Because it is done, it also contributes to the protection of privacy. As a result, when the user determines that the notification is necessary, the mobile information terminal 2 can be used to make the 110 or 119 notification. Further, at the same time as the notification to the centralized report management center 5, the user also notifies the password so that the image stored in the server 4 can be viewed.

On the other hand, the centralized report management center 5 can access the server 4 based on the password notified by the user and enter the password to view the image related to the notification. Therefore, based on the image, it is possible to make an objective and professional judgment to deal with the situation. Further, the centralized report management center 5 may directly dispatch personnel from there, or may request or order the dispatch to an engine closer to the site or an engine equipped with equipment.

On the other hand, the notification of permission from the portable information terminal 2 is
In addition to notifying the password to the centralized reporting center 5,
Alternatively, the portable information terminal 2 may access the server 4 and instruct the centralized control center 3 to transmit an image.

Although the illegal intrusion is exemplified here, a fire can be monitored. In addition, both trespassing and fire can be monitored in parallel. In this case, in order to monitor the fire, the color change of the digital image is detected as described above. Of course, the change in color can be defined not only for flames but also for smoke.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The image sensor, personal digital assistant, and server can use the conventional configurations, but regarding the network configuration, the image is transmitted to the user, and after waiting for the determination, the image is transmitted to a third party such as police. Since it is allowed to browse, the privacy can be protected, the situation at the site can be grasped with high accuracy, and a professional measure can be taken. In addition, the image sensor is always operating,
The change in the monitoring area is acquired 24 hours a day, and if there is such a change, the user is instantly notified via the mobile information terminal, so the time for coping is not missed, and extremely high crime and disaster prevention effects are achieved. It works.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system configuration of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 image sensor 2 Mobile information terminals 3 communication network 4 Report Central Management Center

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image in which the presence or absence of a change in the surveillance area is detected by comparing the images obtained by constantly photographing the surveillance area before and after the time, and the detected image can be transmitted through the communication network. The sensor and the image sensor are connected via the communication network, and comprise an information terminal capable of receiving and displaying the changed image and a server for storing and storing the changed image. A crime prevention / disaster prevention network system characterized in that the changed image can be downloaded from the server only when a permission notification is given from the terminal. 2. The crime prevention / disaster prevention network system according to claim 1, wherein the permission notification is sent from the information terminal to the server, and the server transmits the changed image to a third party. 3. The crime prevention / disaster prevention network system according to claim 1, wherein the permission notice includes a password, and only the third party who has acquired the password from the information terminal can download the changed image on the server. 4. The crime prevention / disaster prevention network system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the third party is a police, fire, or security organization that can access the server. 5. The crime prevention / disaster prevention network system according to claim 1, wherein the communication network is an Internet link.