JP6941458B2 - Monitoring system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for assisting monitoring.

There is technology to support monitoring. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preferentially processing a video signal of a camera device that has detected a signal indicating the occurrence of an abnormality in the range of the video signal over other camera devices.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-331818

When monitoring a surveillance area using images taken by multiple surveillance cameras, if the load of communication for those images and image processing for abnormality detection becomes excessive, the processing will be delayed and an abnormal event will occur. It may be delayed to notice. On the other hand, if these loads are reduced, the image quality of the video may be lowered or the time required for image processing on the video may be lengthened, resulting in insufficient monitoring.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent insufficient monitoring when the processing load related to video in the monitoring area is reduced.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a first acquisition means for acquiring the position information of each photographing device that captures an image of the monitoring area, and a second acquisition for acquiring the position information of the observer in the monitoring area. According to the means, the determination means for determining the priority of the imaging device based on the acquired position information of each imaging device and the position information of the observer, and the priority determined for the imaging device. Provided is a surveillance system including a determination means for determining a process related to the video.

In the above monitoring system, the determination means may lower the priority of the first photographing apparatus having the first positional relationship with the observer to be lower than that in the case where the first imaging device is not in the first positional relationship with the observer. good.
In the above-mentioned monitoring system, a specific means for identifying the occurrence location of an abnormal event that has occurred in the monitoring area is provided, and the determination means is a second photographing apparatus having a second positional relationship with the specified occurrence location. The priority may be higher than when there is no second positional relationship with the place of occurrence.

In the above-mentioned monitoring system, when the second photographing apparatus has the first positional relationship with the observer, the determination means sets the priority of the second photographing apparatus to the observer and the first position. It does not have to be lower than when it is not related.
In the above-mentioned monitoring system, the determination means does not have to lower the priority of the second imaging device as compared with other imaging devices.

In the above-mentioned monitoring system, the determination means may lower the priority of the first photographing device as compared with other photographing devices having no positional relationship with the observer.
In the above-mentioned monitoring system, the determination means may lower the priority of the first photographing device as the number of the observers in the first positional relationship increases.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent insufficient monitoring when the processing load related to the video in the monitoring area is reduced.

Diagram showing the overall configuration of the monitoring system according to the embodiment Diagram showing the watchman terminal attached to the watchman Diagram showing the hardware configuration of the observer terminal Diagram showing the functional configuration realized by the monitoring system Diagram showing an example of a shooting parameter table The figure which shows an example of the parameter table for image processing The figure which shows an example of the operation procedure of each device in priority processing.

[1] Example FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the monitoring system 1 according to the embodiment. The monitoring system 1 is a system that supports monitoring in the monitoring area. Observers are assigned to the monitoring area to monitor the site. In addition, an operator to assist the observer is stationed at the monitoring center, and while contacting the observer, he / she provides information on the situation in the monitoring area and instructs the place to be monitored. The monitoring system 1 is mainly used by these observers and operators.

The monitoring system 1 includes a network 2, an intranet 3, a plurality of observer terminals 10, a monitoring center server device 20, an operator terminal 30, and a plurality of fixed cameras 40. The network 2 is a communication system including a mobile communication network, the Internet, and the like, and mediates the exchange of data between devices connected to the own system. The network 2 includes a wireless communication device such as a base station that performs mobile communication and an access point that performs wireless LAN (Local Area Network) communication. The observer terminal 10 and the fixed camera 40 are connected to the network 2 by performing wireless communication with these wireless communication devices.

The intranet 3 is a communication system including, for example, a LAN and a WAN (Wide Area Network), and mediates the exchange of data between devices connected to its own system. The intranet 3 is connected to the network 2. Further, the monitoring center server device 20 and the operator terminal 30 are connected to the intranet 3. The connection with the intranet 3 may be either wired communication or wireless communication.

The fixed camera 40 is a device installed at the site of the surveillance area to capture an image of the surroundings, that is, an image of the surveillance area, and is an example of the "imaging device" of the present invention. The "video" referred to in the present invention may include both a still image and a moving image, but the case where it is a moving image will be described below. The fixed camera 40 transmits the captured image to the monitoring center server device 20. Note that transmitting a video means transmitting data indicating the video. Even in the following, performing processing such as transmission for various types of information means performing processing for data indicating the information.

The fixed camera 40 has a function of changing setting items such as resolution (number of pixels), frame rate, image transmission rate (transmission speed), compression rate, compression method, etc. in shooting-related processing related to video shooting. There is. The setting items are information defined to specify the detailed mode (how to perform the processing) of the operation when the computer executes the processing (shooting-related processing in this example), and are parameters. Also called.

Hereinafter, each of the above-mentioned setting items used in the shooting-related processing is referred to as a “shooting parameter”. The fixed camera 40 performs shooting-related processing based on the predetermined shooting parameters. For example, if the resolution (number of pixels) is set to 640 × 480 = about 307,000 pixels, the fixed camera 40 captures an image having 640 × 480 pixels.

For example, at the start of shooting, the fixed camera 40 performs shooting-related processing based on a predetermined initial shooting parameter or a shooting parameter at the end of the previous shooting. Further, when the fixed camera 40 is instructed by the external device (monitoring center server device 20 in this embodiment) the shooting parameters to be used, the fixed camera 40 performs the shooting-related processing based on the instructed shooting parameters. Further, the fixed camera 40 has a pan / tilt / zoom function and may be controllable by remote control from the operator terminal 30 or the observer terminal 10.

The image transmitted by the fixed camera 40 is displayed on the screen of the monitoring center, and the operator confirms the status of the monitoring area while looking at the screen. The higher the image quality, the more detailed the situation can be confirmed. However, since the high-quality image has a large amount of data, the wireless communication performed by the fixed camera 40 is likely to be delayed. Therefore, in the surveillance system 1, the image quality of the image of the photographing device having a high priority in the monitoring area is made higher than that of other images, instead of improving the image quality of all the images.

The observer terminal 10 is a terminal carried by an observer placed at the site of the monitoring area. The observer terminal 10 is, for example, a smartphone, but may be a terminal made exclusively for this system.
FIG. 2 shows a watchman terminal 10 attached to a watchman. In FIG. 2, the watchman A1 fixes the terminal case 5 to his body. The terminal case 5 is a container for storing the watchman terminal 10, and is fixed to the watchman's body (specifically, the chest) by a band.

The observer terminal 10 is provided with a photographing means for capturing an image of the surroundings, that is, an image of the monitoring area. The observer terminal 10 is also an example of the "photographing device" of the present invention. In the terminal case 5, when the observer terminal 10 is stored in the own case, the portion where the lens of the photographing means is located is transparent (a hole may be formed). The observer terminal 10 attached to the observer's chest captures an image in front of the observer.

The photographing means of the observer terminal 10 has a function of being able to change the above-mentioned photographing parameters. The shooting parameters are also determined by the monitoring center server device 20 as in the fixed camera 40. In addition, the observer terminal 10 also includes means for measuring the position of its own device such as GPS (Global Positioning System). The observer terminal 10 transmits the image captured by the photographing means and the position measurement result by the positioning means to the monitoring center server device 20.

The monitoring center server device 20 is an information processing device that executes various processes for managing the monitoring status of the monitoring area. The monitoring center server device 20 performs image processing on the transmitted video, for example, and detects the occurrence of an abnormal event in the monitoring area. An abnormal event here is an event that occurs in the monitoring area, and the observer takes some action (contacts with related parties and converges the situation) because it threatens the safety of people around him or causes annoyance. It is an event that is the target of action), and is sometimes called simply an abnormality or a case.

Specifically, for example, the appearance of a suspicious person, the discovery of a suspicious object, entry into an exclusion zone, jumping out onto a road, the occurrence of an injured person, the occurrence of an accident, the occurrence of a fight, and the like are included in the abnormal events. When the monitoring center server device 20 detects the occurrence of an abnormal event, it notifies the operator by transmitting notification information indicating that fact to the operator terminal 30.

The operator terminal 30 is a terminal used by the operator of the monitoring center. The operator terminal 30 notifies the operator of the occurrence of an abnormal event in the monitoring area by displaying the notification information transmitted from the monitoring center server device 20 on, for example, a display means. The operator who notices the occurrence of the abnormal event by this notification informs the person in charge of monitoring of the occurrence of the abnormal event, or contacts the observer and instructs the response to the abnormal event that has occurred.

Since images are transmitted to the monitoring center server device 20 from all the fixed cameras 40 and the observer terminal 10 that shoot the inside of the monitoring area, resources (CPU ((Central Processing)) used for image processing for all the images are transmitted. If Unit)) and memory) are evenly allocated, the amount of resources per video will be reduced. As a result, even if an abnormal event occurs, the time required to detect it becomes long, and the response to the abnormal event may be delayed.

In order to eliminate the delay in response, it is desirable to allocate a sufficient amount of resources to all videos, but it is difficult to prepare such resources due to cost restrictions. Therefore, in the monitoring system 1, a larger amount of resources is allocated to the video obtained by capturing an important part in the monitoring area than in other images so that the occurrence of an abnormal event in the important part can be detected earlier. Then, the setting items (parameters) related to the image processing for that purpose are determined by the monitoring center server device 20. This setting item is referred to as "image processing parameter" below.

FIG. 3 shows the hardware configuration of the observer terminal 10. The observer terminal 10 is a computer including a processor 11, a memory 12, a storage 13, a communication device 14, an input device 15, an output device 16, a photographing device 17, and a positioning device 18. The processor 11 is a device including a CPU or the like and having a function of operating an operating system and controlling the entire computer. The processor 11 reads programs, data, and the like from the storage 13 and the communication device 14 into the memory 12, and executes various processes according to these.

The memory 12 is a recording device having a function of storing data that can be read by the processor 11, such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage 13 is a recording device having a function of storing data that can be read by the processor 11, such as a hard disk drive and a flash memory. The communication device 14 is a communication device having a function of communicating between computers via a wired network and / or a wireless network. In the observer terminal 10, the communication device 14 performs, for example, mobile communication or wireless communication conforming to a wireless LAN standard.

The input device 15 is an input device having a function of receiving an input from the outside. In the observer terminal 10, the input device 15 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a button, a microphone, and the like. The output device 16 is an output device having a function of performing output to the outside. In the observer terminal 10, the output device 16 includes a display, and the touch sensor of the input device 15 and the display of the output device 16 integrally form a touch screen.

The photographing device 17 is a device that photographs an ambient image. The photographing device 17 photographs an image based on the above-mentioned photographing parameters, and supplies the photographed image to the processor 11. The positioning device 18 measures its own position using, for example, a signal from a GPS satellite, and supplies position information (information indicating latitude and longitude) indicating the measured position to the processor 11.

The monitoring center server device 20 is a computer including a processor, a memory, a storage, and a communication device. All of these are devices having the same functions as the devices of the same name shown in FIG. In the monitoring center server device 20, the communication device performs wired communication conforming to the standard of the wired LAN (wireless communication may be performed).

The operator terminal 30 is a computer including a processor, a memory, a storage, a communication device, an input device, and an output device. All of these are devices having the same functions as the devices of the same name shown in FIG. In the operator terminal 30, the communication device performs wired communication conforming to the standard of the wired LAN (wireless communication may be performed), and the input device includes a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and the like.

The fixed camera 40 is a computer including a processor, a memory, a storage, a communication device, and a photographing device. All of these are devices having the same functions as the devices of the same name shown in FIG.

The functions described below are realized by the processor of each device included in the monitoring system 1 executing a program to control each part.
FIG. 4 shows a functional configuration realized by the monitoring system 1. Although only one observer terminal 10 and one fixed camera 40 are shown in FIG. 4, the other observer terminal 10 and the fixed camera 40 also have the same functional configuration.

The observer terminal 10 includes a positioning unit 101, a position information transmission unit 102, a shooting unit 103, a video transmission unit 104, and a shooting operation control unit 105. The monitoring center server device 20 includes an observer terminal information acquisition unit 201, a fixed camera information acquisition unit 202, a priority determination unit 203, a processing determination unit 204, a shooting instruction unit 205, and an image processing operation control unit 206. , An image processing unit 207, a notification unit 208, and a generation location specifying unit 209. The operator terminal 30 includes a notification information display unit 301. The fixed camera 40 includes a photographing unit 401, a video transmitting unit 402, and a photographing operation control unit 403.

The positioning unit 101 of the observer terminal 10 repeatedly measures the position of its own device. The positioning unit 101 measures the position of its own device at regular time intervals (every second, etc.), and supplies position information indicating the measured position to the position information transmitting unit 102. The position information transmission unit 102 transmits the position information indicating the position of the own device measured by the positioning unit 101 to the monitoring center server device 20. The observer terminal 10 stores the device ID (Identification) as information for identifying the own device. The position information transmission unit 102 transmits the position information together with the device ID to the monitoring center server device 20 each time the position information is supplied.

The photographing unit 103 photographs an image around the own device. The shooting unit 103 is controlled by the shooting operation control unit 105, which will be described later, and shoots based on the predetermined shooting parameters (resolution, frame rate). The shooting unit 103 supplies the shot video to the video transmitting unit 104 in parallel while shooting the video. The image transmitting unit 104 transmits the image around the own device photographed by the photographing unit 103 to the monitoring center server device 20.

The video transmission unit 104 is controlled by the shooting operation control unit 105, which will be described later, and transmits video based on a predetermined shooting parameter (image transmission rate). Further, the video transmission unit 104 adds metadata including the device ID of its own device to the video and transmits the video. The shooting unit 103 and the video transmitting unit 104 shoot and transmit video in parallel using the streaming technology. The shooting unit 103 and the video transmitting unit 104 perform shooting-related processing for shooting the video in the monitoring area in this way.

The shooting operation control unit 105 controls the operation related to shooting by the shooting unit 103 and the video transmission unit 104. The shooting operation control unit 105 stores, for example, predetermined initial shooting parameters (initial values such as resolution, frame rate, and image transmission rate), and performs shooting-related processing using the shooting parameters. It controls the photographing unit 103 and the image transmitting unit 104.

The photographing unit 401 of the fixed camera 40 captures an image around the own camera. The image transmitting unit 402 transmits the image around the own camera captured by the photographing unit 401 to the monitoring center server device 20. The shooting operation control unit 403 controls the operation related to shooting by the shooting unit 401 and the video transmitting unit 402. The photographing unit 401, the image transmitting unit 402, and the photographing operation control unit 403 have the same functions as the photographing unit 103, the image transmitting unit 104, and the photographing operation control unit 105 of the observer terminal 10.

The observer terminal information acquisition unit 201 of the monitoring center server device 20 has received the position information and device ID transmitted from the position information transmission unit 102 of the observer terminal 10 and the video transmission unit 104 of the observer terminal 10. The video and the device ID are acquired as information (monitor terminal information) related to the watcher terminal 10 indicated by the device ID. That is, the observer terminal information acquisition unit 201 is a means for acquiring the position information of each photographing device (observer terminal 10) that captures an image of the surveillance area, and is an example of the "first acquisition means" of the present invention. ..

Further, since the observer terminal 10 is attached to the observer, the position information of the observer terminal 10 can be regarded as the position information of the observer. That is, the observer terminal information acquisition unit 201 is also a means for acquiring the position information of the observer in the monitoring area, and is an example of the "second acquisition means" of the present invention. The observer terminal information acquisition unit 201 supplies the acquired observer terminal information to the priority determination unit 203 and the image processing unit 207.

The fixed camera information acquisition unit 202 acquires the image and the device ID transmitted from the image transmission unit 402 of the fixed camera 40 as information (fixed camera information) regarding the fixed camera 40 indicated by the device ID. Further, the fixed camera information acquisition unit 202 stores a position information list which is a list in which the device ID and the position information of the fixed camera 40 indicated by the device ID are associated with each other. These position information is acquired by measuring the latitude / longitude information of the installation position when the corresponding fixed camera 40 is installed. The fixed camera information acquisition unit 202 acquires the position information associated with the acquired device ID in the position information list as the fixed camera information.

That is, the fixed camera information acquisition unit 202 is a means for acquiring the position information of each photographing device (fixed camera 40) that captures an image of the monitoring area, and is an example of the "first acquisition means" of the present invention. Even if each fixed camera 40 stores the position information of its own device, transmits the position information together with the image, and the fixed camera information acquisition unit 202 acquires the image and the position information as the fixed camera information. good. The fixed camera information acquisition unit 202 supplies the acquired fixed camera information to the priority determination unit 203 and the image processing unit 207.

The priority determination unit 203 includes the position information of each photographing device acquired by the observer terminal information acquisition unit 201 and the fixed camera information acquisition unit 202, and the position information of the observer acquired by the observer terminal information acquisition unit 201. Based on the above, the priority of each of the plurality of photographing devices (observer terminal 10 and fixed camera 40) is determined. The priority determination unit 203 is an example of the "determination means" of the present invention. In the monitoring system 1, it is considered that the higher the priority of the photographing device, the more important the image is taken from the viewpoint of monitoring, and it is easier to grasp the situation of the monitoring area from the image and the occurrence of the abnormal event is earlier. Make it possible to find it.

In this embodiment, the priority determination unit 203 separately determines the priority of the observer terminal 10 and the priority of the fixed camera 40. Hereinafter, three determination methods will be described first as methods for determining the priority of the fixed camera 40. As an example, the priority of the photographing apparatus shall be expressed in five stages from "1" to "5" (here, "1" has the highest priority).

In the first determination method, the priority determination unit 203 gives the priority of the fixed camera 40 having the first positional relationship with the observer, and the priority when the fixed camera 40 is not in the first positional relationship with the observer. Make it lower than the degree. An imaging device having a first positional relationship with the observer, such as the fixed camera 40 in this case, is an example of the "first imaging device" of the present invention. The first positional relationship is, for example, a positional relationship in which the fixed camera 40 is within a predetermined distance (for example, 10 m) from the observer, or a positional relationship in which the observer is within a predetermined distance range from the fixed camera 40.

That is, the priority determination unit 203 lowers the priority of the fixed camera 40 in which the observer is nearby as compared with the case where the observer is not nearby. For example, in a certain monitoring area, it is assumed that the initial priorities of the three fixed cameras 40 are set to "2", "3", and "4" according to the importance of the installation location. When the first determination method is used, for example, when the observer is not nearby, the priority determination unit 203 sets the fixed camera 40 having the priority “2” within a predetermined distance from the fixed camera 40. When the observer enters and the fixed camera 40 has the first positional relationship with the observer, "3" is lower than the priority (that is, "2") when the observer does not have the first positional relationship with the observer. A priority equal to or lower than that is set as the priority of the fixed camera 40.

In the second determination method, the priority determination unit 203 compares the priority of the fixed camera 40 having the first positional relationship with the observer with the priority of the fixed camera 40 not having the first positional relationship with the observer. To be judged low. For example, in the above-mentioned monitoring area, the fixed camera 40 having a priority of "2" has a first positional relationship with the observer, and the fixed camera 40 having a priority of "4" does not have a first positional relationship with the observer. Then, the priority determination unit 203 determines that the priority of the former fixed camera 40 is "5", which is lower than the priority of the latter fixed camera 40 ("4"), by using the second determination method. ..

In this case, if only the first determination method is used, the priority determination unit 203 may determine the priority of the former fixed camera 40, which had a priority of "2", as "5". However, since it may be lower than "2", it may be determined as "3" or "4". On the other hand, assuming that the fixed camera 40 having a priority of "4" has a first positional relationship with the observer and the fixed camera 40 having a priority of "2" does not have a first positional relationship with the observer. When the determination unit 203 uses only the second determination method, the priority of the former fixed camera 40 (“4”) is already lower than the priority of the latter fixed camera 40 (“2”), so that the determination unit 203 remains as it is. It may be determined as "4" without changing.

In the third determination method, the priority determination unit 203 determines that the fixed camera 40 having a large number of observers in the first positional relationship has a lower priority. For example, in the above-mentioned monitoring area, when the fixed camera 40 having the priority "2" has a first positional relationship with one observer, the priority determination unit 203 sets the priority of the fixed camera 40 to ". 3 ”is determined, and when the fixed camera 40 has a first positional relationship with two observers, the priority of the fixed camera 40 is determined to be“ 4 ”.

If the priority cannot be lowered further by any of the determination methods (for example, when the fixed camera 40 having the priority "5" has the first positional relationship with the observer), the priority determination unit 203 is the most. Determine low priority. The priority determination unit 203 may make a determination using either or both of the first determination method and the second determination method, and may also make a determination using a third determination method.

Although the method of determining the priority of the fixed camera 40 has been described above, the method of determining the priority of the observer terminal 10 may also be used. In the case of the observer terminal 10, at least one observer has the first positional relationship, so it is determined that there is no observer wearing the observer terminal 10. That is, the determination may be made based on the positional relationship between the observer terminal 10 and another observer other than the observer wearing the observer terminal 10. In this case, it does not matter whether another observer is wearing the observer terminal 10.

The priority determination unit 203 determines the priority of the observer terminal 10 by using the first to third determination methods, as in the case of the fixed camera 40 described above. The priority determination unit 203 determines, for example, every fixed time (every 10 seconds, etc.) for all the photographing devices as described above. The priority determination unit 203 supplies the determined priority to the processing determination unit 204 in association with the device ID of the photographing device to be determined.

The processing determination unit 204 determines the processing related to the image for photographing the monitoring area according to the priority determined for the photographing device for photographing the image. The processing determination unit 204 is an example of the "determining means" of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the processing related to the moving image is the above-mentioned shooting-related processing and the image processing for the moving image for detecting an abnormal event. The processing determination by the processing determination unit 204 means determining how to perform the processing related to the video.

In the case of shooting-related processing, the processing determination unit 204 determines, for example, whether to perform high-quality processing or low-quality processing. Further, in the case of image processing, the processing determination unit 204 determines, for example, whether to perform processing that sufficiently uses resources (CPU, memory, etc.) or processing that saves resources. The processing determination unit 204 makes these determinations, more specifically, by determining the shooting parameters described above or by determining the image processing parameters.

The processing determination unit 204 determines the shooting-related processing by using the shooting parameter table in which the priority and the shooting parameter are associated with each other.
FIG. 5 shows an example of a shooting parameter table. In this shooting parameter table, the priority order of "1", "2", "3", "4", and "5" is "1.92 million pixels (1600 x 1200)" and "1555,000 pixels (1440)". The resolutions (number of pixels) of "x1080", "12.29 million pixels (1280 x 960)", "786,000 pixels (1024 x 768)", and "307,000 pixels (640 x 480)" It is associated.

The processing determination unit 204 sets the resolution (number of pixels) associated with the priority supplied from the priority determination unit 203 in the shooting parameter table in the shooting-related processing by the shooting device indicated by the device ID supplied together. Determined as the shooting parameter to be used. The processing determination unit 204 supplies the determined imaging parameters to the imaging instruction unit 205 together with the device ID of the imaging device to be determined.

In the shooting parameter table shown in FIG. 5, the higher the priority, the higher the resolution (the number of pixels). In addition, for example, the higher the priority, the higher the frame rate, the higher the priority, the larger the image size, and the higher the priority, the higher the image transmission rate (transmission speed). May be faster). Further, the higher the priority, the lower the compression rate, or the compression method having a lower compression rate may be selected.

In either case, the processing determination unit 204 determines the amount of data to be transmitted per unit time when the video obtained by the shooting-related processing is transmitted according to the priority. In detail, the higher the priority, the higher the priority. The shooting parameters (resolution, frame rate, image size, etc.) that increase the amount of transmitted data per unit time are determined. As a result, the higher the priority of the shooting device, the higher the image quality of the image when it is displayed, and when the image is enlarged, details can be clearly displayed and the movement of people and objects in the image can be smoothed. can do.

Further, the processing determination unit 204 determines the image processing by using the image processing parameter table in which the priority and the resource amount are associated with each other.
FIG. 6 shows an example of an image processing parameter table. In this image processing parameter table, the priorities of "1", "2", "3", "4", and "5" are "5 cores", "4 cores", "3 cores", and "2 cores". , And the amount of resources (the number of CPU cores) of "1 core" are associated with each other.

The processing determination unit 204 is a photographing device in which the device ID supplied together indicates the amount of resources (the number of CPU cores) associated with the priority supplied from the priority determination unit 203 in the image processing parameter table. Determined as an image processing parameter used in image processing. The processing determination unit 204 supplies the determined image processing parameters to the image processing operation control unit 206 together with the device ID of the photographing device to be determined.

In the image processing parameter table shown in FIG. 6, the higher the priority, the larger the number of cores, which is the amount of resources. In addition, for example, the higher the priority, the larger the usable memory storage area. You may. Further, although the image processing for detecting an abnormal event is repeatedly performed, the higher the priority, the shorter the interval of the image processing (that is, the higher the frequency of the image processing) may be.

In either case, the processing determination unit 204 determines the image processing according to the priority, that is, determines how the image processing is performed. Specifically, the processing determination unit 204 determines the amount of data to be processed per unit time when the image processing is performed according to the priority. In each of the above examples, the processing determination unit 204 determines image processing parameters (resource amount, image processing interval and frequency, etc.) in which the amount of data processed per unit time increases as the priority is higher. ..

As a result, the higher the priority of the photographing device, the shorter the time required for image processing if the amount of video data is the same. As a result, the higher the priority of the image of the photographing device, that is, the image that is important from the viewpoint of monitoring, the faster the detection of the occurrence of an abnormal event from the image is performed, as compared with the case where the priority of the photographing device is made uniform. It can be carried out.

The shooting instruction unit 205 instructs the shooting device to execute the shooting-related processing determined by the processing determination unit 204. The shooting instruction unit 205 generates instruction data instructing to use the shooting parameters supplied from the processing determination unit 204, and the shooting device (observer terminal 10 or the monitoring device terminal 10 or) indicated by the device ID supplied with the generated instruction data. It is transmitted to the fixed camera 40). For example, in the case of the observer terminal 10, the shooting operation control unit 105 gives an instruction from the shooting instruction unit 205 by controlling the shooting unit 103 and the video transmission unit 104 so as to use the shooting parameters indicated by the transmitted instruction data. Executes the shooting-related processing that has been performed.

The image processing operation control unit 206 controls the operation of the image processing unit 207 so as to execute the image processing determined by the processing determination unit 204. The image processing operation control unit 206 supplies the image processing parameters and the device ID supplied from the processing determination unit 204 to the image processing unit 207, and performs image processing on the image supplied together with the device ID for the image processing. Control the operation of image processing so that it is performed using parameters.

The image processing unit 207 performs image processing on the images of the photographing devices (observer terminal 10 and fixed camera 40) acquired by the observer terminal information acquisition unit 201 and the fixed camera information acquisition unit 202. The image processing unit 207 has, for example, a technique for detecting an abnormality from an image of a monitored area disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-262282 and an abnormality of a specific person from video data disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-004720. By applying the technology to detect behavior, etc., the image of the captured monitoring area is analyzed to detect the occurrence of an abnormal event.

When the image processing unit 207 detects the occurrence of an abnormal event by image processing, the image processing unit 207 supplies the notification unit 208 with information indicating that fact and the device ID of the photographing device that captured the image used for the detection. Upon receiving this information, the notification unit 208 generates, for example, notification information indicating that an abnormal event has occurred and the device ID, and transmits the notification information to the operator terminal 30. The notification information display unit 301 of the operator terminal 30 displays the transmitted notification information. The operator notices the occurrence of the abnormal event by looking at the notification information displayed in this way, and contacts the observer to deal with the abnormal event.

When the image processing unit 207 performs the above detection, the image processing unit 207 supplies the observer terminal information or the fixed camera information acquired from the photographing device that captured the image used for the detection to the generation location specifying unit 209. The occurrence location identification unit 209 identifies the occurrence location of the abnormal event that occurred in the monitoring area. The generation location specifying unit 209 is an example of the "specific means" of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the occurrence location identification unit 209 is used to detect the occurrence of an abnormal event, that is, the position indicated by the position information included in the observer terminal information or the fixed camera information supplied from the image processing unit 207. The position of the photographing device that captured the image is specified as the place where the abnormal event occurs. The method of specifying the place of occurrence is not limited to this. For example, when the shooting range of each fixed camera 40 is determined, the generation location specifying unit 209 stores the position information indicating the center of the shooting range in association with the device ID.

Even if the occurrence location identification unit 209 specifies the position indicated by the position information stored in association with the device ID included in the fixed camera information supplied from the image processing unit 207 as the occurrence location of the abnormal event. good. Further, when each photographing device detects the direction of the optical axis of the photographing means of the own device and transmits the information by including it in the observer terminal information or the fixed camera information, the occurrence location identification unit 209 causes an abnormal event to occur. A position moved by a predetermined distance in the direction of the optical axis from the position of the photographing device that captured the image used for the detection may be specified as the generation location. The generation location specifying unit 209 supplies the generation location information indicating the specified occurrence location to the priority determination unit 203.

Three more determination methods will be described as methods for determining the priority when the image processing unit 207 detects the occurrence of an abnormal event. The case of determining the priority of the fixed camera 40 will be described below. In the fourth determination method, the priority determination unit 203 sets the priority of the fixed camera 40, which has a second positional relationship with the occurrence location specified by the occurrence location identification unit 209, to the occurrence location and the second positional relationship. Judge higher than when not in. An imaging device having a second positional relationship with the place where an abnormal event occurs, such as the fixed camera 40 in this case, is an example of the “second imaging device” of the present invention.

The second positional relationship is, for example, similar to the first positional relationship, the positional relationship in which the fixed camera 40 is within a predetermined distance (for example, 10 m) from the location where the abnormal event occurs, or the location where the abnormal event occurs is fixed. It is a positional relationship within a predetermined distance range from the camera 40. That is, the priority determination unit 203 raises the priority of the fixed camera 40 near the place where the abnormal event occurs, as compared with the case where the place where the abnormal event occurs is far away.

When the priority determination unit 203 uses the fourth determination method, for example, when the fixed camera 40 having the priority "3" in the above-mentioned certain monitoring area has a second positional relationship with the place where the abnormal event occurs. , The priority of "2" or "1", which is higher than the priority (that is, "3") when there is no second positional relationship with the place where the abnormal event occurs, is determined as the priority of the fixed camera 40. The fixed camera 40 may have captured an image used for detecting the occurrence of an abnormal event, but the fixed camera 40 has not captured the abnormal event but has been installed near the place where the abnormal event has occurred. In some cases.

When the fifth determination method is used, it is assumed that the first determination method is used as a premise. Then, when the fixed camera 40 having the second positional relationship with the occurrence location specified by the occurrence location identification unit 209 has the first positional relationship with the observer, the priority determination unit 203 raises the fixed camera 40. The priority of is not lowered as compared with the case where there is no first positional relationship with the observer. That is, the priority determination unit 203 normally lowers the priority of the fixed camera 40 in which the observer is nearby as compared with the case where the observer is not nearby, but when the place where the abnormal event occurs is near, the priority determination unit 203 lowers the priority. As an exception, do not lower the priority.

For example, when the fixed camera 40 having the above-mentioned priority of "3" has the first positional relationship with the observer, the priority is usually lowered to "4" or less, but the place where the abnormal event occurs and the second The priority determination unit 203 uses the fifth determination method and does not lower the priority to "3" when the observer is not in the first positional relationship with the observer, that is, "3". 3 ”or higher priority is determined.

The priority determination unit 203 may be used on the premise of a fourth determination method in addition to the first determination method. In that case, it is assumed that the fixed camera 40 having the priority of "3" described above has a first positional relationship with the observer and also has a second positional relationship with the place where the abnormal event occurs. In that case, the priority determination unit 203 does not lower the priority as compared with the case where the fixed camera 40 is not in the first positional relationship with the observer, and the fixed camera 40 is the place where the abnormal event occurs and the first. The priority is higher than when there is no positional relationship of 2. In short, if the priority of the fixed camera 40 is "3", the priority determination unit 203 determines, for example, "2" or "1", which is higher than that, as the priority of the fixed camera 40.

As a premise, the sixth determination method also assumes that the first determination method is used. On that basis, the priority determination unit 203 does not lower the priority of the fixed camera 40, which has a second positional relationship with the generation location specified by the generation location identification unit 209, as compared with other photographing devices. For example, the fixed camera 40 having a priority of "4" has a second positional relationship with the place where the abnormal event occurs, and the fixed camera 40 having the priority "2" does not have a second positional relationship with the place where the abnormal event occurs. And.

In that case, the priority determination unit 203 uses the sixth determination method to set the priority of the former fixed camera 40 to "2" which is the priority of the latter fixed camera 40 or "1" which is higher than that. judge. In this example, when there is another fixed camera 40 having a second positional relationship with the place where the abnormal event occurs, the priority determination unit 203 uses the sixth determination method to generate the abnormal event. The priority of the plurality of fixed cameras 40 having a second positional relationship with the location is determined to be "2" or "1" (because they are not lower than the priority of each other).

Further, the fixed camera 40 having a priority of "2" has a second positional relationship with the place where the abnormal event occurs, and the fixed camera 40 having the priority "4" has a second positional relationship with the place where the abnormal event occurs. Suppose there is no. In that case, when the sixth determination method is used, the priority determination unit 203 determines that the priority of the former fixed camera 40 is already higher than the priority of the latter fixed camera 40, and therefore determines "2" as it is. Alternatively, the priority may be increased to determine "1". When not only the sixth determination method but also the fourth determination method is used, the priority is increased and the determination is made as "1".

Based on the above configuration, each device included in the monitoring system 1 performs priority processing for performing processing related to an image for shooting a monitoring area based on the priority of each shooting device.
FIG. 7 shows an example of the operation procedure of each device in the priority processing. This operation procedure is started, for example, when the power of each device is turned on and monitoring in the monitoring area is started. First, the observer terminal 10 (positioning unit 101) measures the position of the own device (step S11). Next, the observer terminal 10 (position information transmission unit 102) transmits the measured position information indicating the position of the own device to the monitoring center server device 20 (step S12).

Further, the observer terminal 10 (shooting unit 103) shoots an image around the own device (step S13). Next, the observer terminal 10 (video transmission unit 104) transmits the captured video around the own device to the monitoring center server device 20 (step S14). The monitoring center server device 20 (monitoring terminal information acquisition unit 201) acquires the position information and the video transmitted from the monitoring staff terminal 10 as the monitoring staff terminal information (step S15).

The fixed camera 40 (shooting unit 401) captures an image of the surroundings of the own device (step S21). Next, the fixed camera 40 (video transmission unit 402) transmits the captured video around the own device to the monitoring center server device 20 (step S22). The monitoring center server device 20 (fixed camera information acquisition unit 202) acquires the image transmitted from the fixed camera 40 and the position information of the fixed camera 40 as fixed camera information (step S23). Each operation group of steps S11 to S15 and S21 to S23 is repeated in parallel.

The monitoring center server device 20 (image processing unit 207) performs image processing on the acquired images of the photographing device (monitor terminal 10 and fixed camera 40), and detects the occurrence of an abnormal event in the monitoring area. (Step S31). When the occurrence of an abnormal event is detected, the monitoring center server device 20 (occurrence location specifying unit 209) identifies the location where the abnormal event occurs (step S32). The operations of steps S31 and S32 are not performed when the occurrence of an abnormal event is not detected.

The monitoring center server device 20 (priority determination unit 203) performs a plurality of shootings based on the acquired position information of each shooting device and the location where the occurrence of an abnormal event is detected. The priority of each of the devices (observer terminal 10 and fixed camera 40) is determined (step S41). Next, the monitoring center server device 20 (processing determination unit 204) determines the processing related to the image for photographing the monitoring area according to the priority determined for the photographing device for photographing the image (step S42).

Subsequently, the monitoring center server device 20 (shooting instruction unit 205) generates instruction data for instructing the shooting device to execute the determined shooting-related processing (step S43), and uses the instruction data as the shooting device (step S43). In this example, the data is transmitted to the observer terminal 10) (step S44). The observer terminal 10 (shooting operation control unit 105) controls the movement related to shooting of the own device according to the instruction indicated by the received instruction data (step S45). Further, the monitoring center server device 20 (image processing operation control unit 206) controls the operation of the image processing performed by the own device so as to execute the determined image processing (step S46).

When monitoring a monitoring area using images captured by a plurality of imaging devices, if the processing load related to the above-mentioned images (load of image processing for communication and abnormality detection) becomes excessive, processing delays occur. This may lead to a delay in responding to abnormal events. In order to avoid this, it is better to reduce the processing load related to the video, but if the load is reduced, the image quality of the video will be low and the time required for image processing will be long, and the monitoring area where the video is projected will be monitored. May be inadequate.

In this embodiment, since the observer is nearby (in the first positional relationship) and the priority of the photographing apparatus in which the surroundings are sufficiently monitored is lowered (first determination method). Insufficient monitoring when the priority of the imaging device is lowered to reduce the processing load related to the video in the surveillance area is suppressed compared to the case where the priority is determined regardless of the position of the observer. Can be done. In addition, since the priority of the imaging device in which the observer is nearby is lower than that of the imaging device in which the observer is not nearby (not in the first positional relationship) (second determination method), the observer is not nearby. The processing related to the image of the photographing device can be performed more quickly than the processing related to the image of the photographing device in which the observer is nearby.

Further, in this embodiment, the priority is lowered as the number of observers nearby is higher (third determination method), so that the priority is uniform regardless of the number of observers nearby. , The processing related to the image of the photographing device in which the observer is not nearby can be performed more quickly than the processing related to the image of the photographing device in which the observer is nearby. In addition, since the priority of the imaging device (which is in the second positional relationship) near the place where the abnormal event occurs is increased (fourth determination method), the abnormal event is compared with the case where the priority is made uniform. It is possible to strengthen the monitoring of the place where the disease occurs and its vicinity.

Further, in this embodiment, even if there is an observer near the imaging device near the place where the abnormal event occurs, the priority is not lowered as compared with the case where the observer is not nearby (fifth determination method). ), It is possible to suppress insufficient monitoring of the place where the abnormal event occurs and its vicinity as compared with the case of lowering this priority. In addition, since the priority of the photographing device near the place where the abnormal event occurs is not lower than that of the photographing device not (sixth determination method), the processing related to the image of the photographing device near the place where the abnormal event occurs is not so. It can be made faster or at least as fast as the video processing of the imaging device.

[2] Modifications The above-mentioned examples are merely examples of the implementation of the present invention, and may be modified as follows. Further, the examples and the respective modifications may be carried out in combination as necessary.

[2-1] Number of observers in the image The number of observers in the image of the photographing device may be taken into consideration when determining the priority. For example, the image processing unit 207 performs image processing on the acquired image of the photographing device (observer terminal 10 and fixed camera 40), and determines the number of observers shown in the image. The image processing unit 207 stores information indicating features such as the shape and color of the uniform of the observer, extracts the observer in the video using a well-known matching technique, and determines the number of the observer.

The image processing unit 207 supplies the determined number of people to the priority determination unit 203 together with the device ID of the photographing device that has captured the image to be determined. The priority determination unit 203 lowers the priority as the number of observers determined by the image processing unit 207 is larger. This determination method is the same as the third determination method except that the method of obtaining the number of observers is different. According to this modification, the priority can be determined in consideration of the number of observers who do not have a terminal capable of measuring the position such as the observer terminal 10.

[2-2] Instruction to the observer The device may give an instruction to direct the observer to the place where the abnormal event occurs on behalf of the operator. For example, the monitoring center server device 20 includes a monitoring staff location determination unit and an instruction processing execution unit in addition to the units shown in FIG.

Occurrence location information is supplied from the occurrence location identification unit 209 to the observer location determination unit, and observer terminal information is supplied from the observer terminal information acquisition unit 201. The observer location determination unit determines the presence / absence of the observer who has the above-mentioned second positional relationship with the occurrence location of the abnormal event based on the occurrence location represented by the supplied information and the position of the observer. When the observer location determination unit determines that there is no such observer, it supplies the occurrence location information to the instruction processing execution unit.

When it is determined by the observer location determination unit that there is no observer in the second positional relationship, the instruction processing execution unit executes a process for giving an instruction to direct the observer to the place where the observer is generated. When the occurrence location information is supplied from the observer location determination unit, the instruction processing execution unit determines that there is no such observer, and instructs the occurrence location indicated by the occurrence location information and heading there. Instructed data to be generated is generated and transmitted to each observer terminal 10.

When the observer terminal 10 receives the instruction data, the observer terminal 10 displays the instruction indicated by the instruction data and the place where the abnormal event occurs. Upon seeing this, the watchman recognizes that he has been instructed to go to the displayed location. As a result, for example, even if the instruction by the operator is delayed for some reason when an abnormal event occurs, the observer can be directed to the place where the abnormal event occurs.

[2-3] Positional relationship The first and second positional relationships are not limited to those described above. For example, as the fixed camera 40 having the first positional relationship with the observer, the fixed camera 40 is located within a predetermined distance from the center of the shooting range of the fixed camera 40 or within a predetermined distance from the observer. The relationship may include the center of the shooting range of. Further, there may be a relationship in which a watchman is in the shooting range of the fixed camera 40.

Further, the fixed camera 40 may be installed in the section where the fixed camera 40 is installed, or the fixed camera 40 may be installed in the section where the watcher is installed. This section is, for example, a section in a city, a section in a building, a section set according to the situation or environment in a monitoring area, and the like. The shape of the section may be a quadrangle, or may be an uneven shape that matches the shape of a city, a building, a street, a passage, or the like. The above positional relationship may be applied to the second positional relationship between the place where the abnormal event occurs and the photographing apparatus.

In either case, if the imaging device and the observer are in the first positional relationship, the observer can monitor the area of the monitoring area photographed by the imaging device (a state in which the observer can monitor immediately, if not always). ). Also, if the location where the abnormal event occurs and the imaging device have a second positional relationship, the imaging device can photograph the location and / or its surroundings (if the direction of the camera is changed, if not always). It suffices if it is in a state where it can be monitored).

[2-4] Image processing parameters The processing determination unit 204 may determine image processing parameters different from those in the embodiment. For example, when image processing for a plurality of videos is performed in order, the processing determination unit 204 determines the order as an image processing parameter according to the priority. For example, the processing determination unit 204 determines the order so that the image processing is performed first for the image of the photographing device having a higher priority.

In addition to the order of image processing, the processing determination unit 204 may determine an image processing parameter in which the end time of image processing for the video changes according to the priority. In either case, the higher the priority of the photographing device, the faster the image processing for the image is completed, so that the operator or the like can notice the abnormal event occurring in the photographing range of the photographing device earlier.

[2-5] Imaging Device In the above embodiment, the observer terminal 10 and the fixed camera 40 are used as the imaging device for capturing the image of the surveillance area, but only one of them may be used. Even in that case, by determining the priority by each of the above determination methods, it is possible to prevent insufficient monitoring when the processing load related to video is reduced, or to prevent an abnormal event from occurring in or near the location. Surveillance can be strengthened.

[2-6] Priority The priority may be expressed differently from each of the above examples. For example, symbols, characters, figures, etc. representing the upper limit relationship as an index such as "Lv1, Lv2, ...", "A, B, C, ...", "High, Medium, Low" may be used. In short, any representation of the priority may be used as long as it is possible to distinguish between the high priority and the low priority of the photographing apparatus.

[2-7] Monitorer in the monitoring area In the above embodiment, the observer assigned to the monitoring area is the observer who plays the role of monitoring at the site of the monitoring area, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a staff member other than the watchman working in the watch area may be the watchman. Specifically, the staff is, for example, when the marathon venue is a monitoring area, a guide of the venue, a course organizer, a water supply staff, a guide for spectators, etc., and when a stadium or the like is a monitoring area, a guard. In addition to security guards equivalent to, ticket sales staff, store clerk, cleaning staff, etc. Further, the present invention is not limited to humans, and may be, for example, a self-propelled robot or drone having a built-in surveillance camera, an animal equipped with an observer terminal (a dog trained like a police dog, etc.).

[2-8] Devices for Realizing Each Function The devices for realizing the functions shown in FIG. 4 and the like are not limited to the above-mentioned devices. For example, the monitoring center server device may be provided with an input device and an output device, and each part included in the operator terminal 30 may be realized. On the contrary, the operator terminal may realize each part included in the monitoring center server device 20. Further, the functions realized by the monitoring center server device may be shared and realized by a plurality of information processing devices. For example, the first device realizes the functions from the observer terminal information acquisition unit 201 to the priority determination unit 203, and the second device realizes the functions from the processing determination unit 204 to the occurrence location identification unit 209. .. In either case, it is sufficient that the above-mentioned functions are realized in the entire device provided in the monitoring system.

[2-9] Automation of Instruction In the embodiment, the operator using the operator terminal 30 gives an instruction to the observer, but in the future, the operator's work including this instruction may be automated. For example, using AI (Artificial Intelligence), select the observer closest to the information acquisition position of the case indicated by the information posted from the observer terminal 10, and the information (case) required for the selected observer. Information indicating the place of occurrence of In this way, the work that can be realized by the processing based on a certain rule may be automated.

[2-10] Category of Invention The present invention can be regarded as a monitoring system including each device such as a supervisor terminal 10, a monitoring center server device 20, an operator terminal 30, and a fixed camera 40. The present invention can also be regarded as an information processing method for realizing the processing performed by each device. It can also be regarded as a program for operating the computer that controls each device. This program may be provided in the form of a recording medium such as an optical disk that stores it, or may be provided in the form of being downloaded to a computer via a network such as the Internet and installed and made available. May be done.

1 ... Surveillance system, 10 ... Observer terminal, 20 ... Monitoring center server device, 30 ... Operator terminal, 40 ... Fixed camera, 101 ... Positioning unit, 102 ... Position information transmission unit, 103 ... Imaging unit, 104 ... Video transmission unit , 105 ... Shooting operation control unit, 201 ... Observer terminal information acquisition unit, 202 ... Fixed camera information acquisition unit, 203 ... Priority determination unit, 204 ... Processing determination unit, 205 ... Shooting instruction unit, 206 ... Image processing operation control Unit, 207 ... Image processing unit, 208 ... Notification unit, 209 ... Occurrence location identification unit, 301 ... Notification information display unit, 401 ... Shooting unit, 402 ... Video transmission unit, 403 ... Shooting operation control unit.

Claims (7)

And positional information of each image capturing apparatus for capturing an image of the monitor area, a first acquiring means for acquiring the image captured by the respective imaging devices,
A second acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the observer in the monitoring area, and
An image processing means that performs image processing to detect the occurrence of an abnormal event from the video, and
Based on the acquired position information of each imaging device and the position information of the observer, the priority of the imaging device having the first positional relationship in which the distance to the observer is within a predetermined range is given to other imaging. Judgment means for determining to be lower than the priority of the device,
A monitoring system including a determination means for determining that the higher the priority determined for the photographing apparatus, the larger the amount of data processed per unit time in the image processing. The determination means according to claim 1, wherein the priority of surveillant the first imaging device in said first position related to lower than when not in the first positional relationship between the observer Monitoring system. Provided with a specific means for identifying the location of an abnormal event that occurred in the monitoring area.
The second aspect of the present invention, wherein the determination means raises the priority of the second photographing apparatus having a second positional relationship with the specified occurrence location as compared with the case where the second imaging device does not have a second positional relationship with the occurrence location. Monitoring system. When the second photographing device has the first positional relationship with the observer, the determination means sets the priority of the second photographing device as compared with the case where the second photographing device does not have the first positional relationship with the observer. The monitoring system according to claim 3, which is not lowered. The monitoring system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the determination means does not lower the priority of the second photographing device as compared with other photographing devices. The monitoring according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the determination means lowers the priority of the first photographing device as compared with other photographing devices having no positional relationship between the observer and the first photographing device. system. The monitoring system according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the determination means lowers the priority of the first photographing apparatus as the number of the observers in the first positional relationship increases.

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