Two Examples of Indoor and Outdoor Surveillance Systems: Motivation, Design, and Testing

Abstract

We examine the state of the security industry and market and underline the role that it plays in the R&D efforts. We also present a snapshot of the current state-of-the-art in indoor and outdoor surveillance systems for commercial applications. Then, we move on and describe in detail a prototype indoor surveillance system that we recently developed. The system is called Cooperative Camera Network (CCN) and reports the presence of a visually tagged individual throughout a building structure. Visual tagging is based on the color signature of a person. CCN is meant to be used for the monitoring of potential shoplifters in department stores. We also describe our prototype outdoor surveillance system, the DETER (Detection of Events for Threat Evaluation and Recognition). DETER can monitor large open spaces, like parking lots, and report unusual moving patterns by pedestrians or vehicles. To perform its function DETER fuses the field of views of multiple cameras into a sup er-view and performs tracking of moving objects across it. A threat assessment module with encoded suspicious behaviors performs the motion pattern identification. Both surveillance systems are good examples of technology transfer of state-of-the-art ideas from the research literature to the commercial domain. At the same time, they are good study cases for the extra engineering methodology and effort that is needed to adapt initial research concepts into a successful practical technology.