Artificial intelligence aids surveillance analysis

APRIL 28, 2009--Surveillance cameras may be a tool for solving crimes, but what about using them to prevent or stop criminals or terrorists?

Although computerized video-based monitoring would seem to be the obvious answer, algorithms that can recognize suspicious activities and individuals have proven highly difficult to devise. Examples include a terrorist carrying a suicide bomb or a military target holding a heavy weapon.

Traditional approaches to this problem are based on markers or feature points extracted from the human body, which is impractical for low-resolution images and moving platforms. Using artificial intelligence techniques, Yang Ran and his colleagues at the Center for Automation Research (CfAR) at the University of Maryland (College Park, MD, USA) are developing a computer monitoring system that can analyze human motion with low-resolution cameras and real-time processing software.

To do so, they examine the cyclical property of motion and present algorithms to classify humans in videos according to their gait patterns. For more information, go to: http://spie.org/x33692.xml?ArticleID=x33692

-- Posted by Conard Holton, Vision Systems Design, www.vision-systems.com