Virtual Observer Mobile Wide-area Video Surveillance System

City-wide Area coverage with Mobile Video Surveillance Copyright DTI, Confidential

Mobile Wide-area Video Surveillance System Copyright DTI, Confidential Mobile surveillance on buses, trams, police cars assists in the battle against street crime and antisocial behaviour the investigation of traffic accidents investigating activities of people and with numerous other events that impact government operations example: in the London bombings of July 7 2005, law enforcement authorities wanted to quickly access the footage of an area around the bombing and the only footage available was from the bus fleet A surveillance initiative involving a fleet of buses in a city such as London, delivers a powerful network of over 8,300 mobile security cameras traversing the city’s busiest regions, up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, significantly complementing and enhancing the city’s static surveillance infrastructure

Mobile surveillance on buses, trams, police cars assists in

the battle against street crime and antisocial behaviour

the investigation of traffic accidents

investigating activities of people and with numerous other events that impact government operations

example: in the London bombings of July 7 2005, law enforcement authorities wanted to quickly access the footage of an area around the bombing and the only footage available was from the bus fleet

A surveillance initiative involving a fleet of buses in a city such as London, delivers a powerful network of over 8,300 mobile security cameras traversing the city’s busiest regions, up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, significantly complementing and enhancing the city’s static surveillance infrastructure

Mobile Wide-area Video Surveillance System Copyright DTI Conventional wide-area video surveillance systems a network of fixed cameras positioned close to locations of interest each camera observes a relatively small area from a fixed location pan-tilt-zoom cameras allow the view direction to be adjusted over time expensive - high infrastructure cost/impact in order to implement Alternative and flexible approach to wide area surveillance wide area surveillance around transport routes using GPS and frontal camera data acquired from a transport network based on observation streams collected from mobile cameras mounted on buses, trams, police cars “ virtual observer” (virtual camera) to be placed anywhere (based on GPS and time) within the space covered by the sensor network, and reconstruct the scene at these arbitrary points creating the ability to have unlimited numbers of “virtual observers” placed at chosen positions to monitor the scene, spatially and over time

Conventional wide-area video surveillance systems

a network of fixed cameras positioned close to locations of interest

each camera observes a relatively small area from a fixed location

pan-tilt-zoom cameras allow the view direction to be adjusted over time

expensive - high infrastructure cost/impact in order to implement

Alternative and flexible approach to wide area surveillance

wide area surveillance around transport routes using GPS and frontal camera data acquired from a transport network

based on observation streams collected from mobile cameras mounted on buses, trams, police cars

“ virtual observer” (virtual camera) to be placed anywhere (based on GPS and time) within the space covered by the sensor network, and reconstruct the scene at these arbitrary points

creating the ability to have unlimited numbers of “virtual observers” placed at chosen positions to monitor the scene, spatially and over time

Mobile Wide-area Video Surveillance System Copyright DTI Wide area surveillance along transport routes - Significance of the approach transport routes generally link areas where people congregate, and thus provide coverage of important public areas such as central business districts more than 80 percent of crime is committed within 5 km of a transport route given that most transport fleets have frontal cameras and GPS, these streams can be used effectively for law enforcement

Wide area surveillance along transport routes - Significance of the approach

transport routes generally link areas where people congregate, and thus provide coverage of important public areas such as central business districts

more than 80 percent of crime is committed within 5 km of a transport route

given that most transport fleets have frontal cameras and GPS, these streams can be used effectively for law enforcement

Mobile Wide-area Video Surveillance System Copyright DTI Use a mobile transport network with cameras as a surveillance network? Exists currently! Wide geographical coverage Large quantity of sensors, continuously ‘roaming’ Buses – Australia: 15,000; North America: 750,000; UK/Europe: 750,000 Each bus has: 5 to 7 cameras typically 6000 cameras across typical city network when fully installed Bus operates ~ 12 hrs / day; 85 hours per week Proximity to areas of population / risk / activity Forward facing cameras With the inclusion of forward facing cameras on buses government agencies may seek to integrate this roaming video surveillance network into the high-level strategic surveillance and security needs of the city

Use a mobile transport network with cameras as a surveillance network?

Exists currently!

Wide geographical coverage

Large quantity of sensors, continuously ‘roaming’

Buses – Australia: 15,000; North America: 750,000; UK/Europe: 750,000 Each bus has: 5 to 7 cameras typically 6000 cameras across typical city network when fully installed Bus operates ~ 12 hrs / day; 85 hours per week

Proximity to areas of population / risk / activity

Forward facing cameras

With the inclusion of forward facing cameras on buses government agencies may seek to integrate this roaming video surveillance network into the high-level strategic surveillance and security needs of the city

Mobile Wide-area Video Surveillance System Copyright DTI Challenges Mobile cameras mobile cameras have variable position and orientation sample a large spatial area but at low temporal resolution the views of any particular place are distributed across many different video streams Interpreting the data mobile cameras have both variable location and orientation mobile cameras sample a large spatial area at low temporal resolution the views of a particular place are distributed across many different video streams acquired by different sensors on different mobile units the cameras are continually moving; there is no stable background image which makes it difficult to do motion-based segmentation How to deal with large numbers (eg. 1000 or 10000) of real-time streams, including both video and trajectory information. In the data-management field new systems are being developed to deal with the demands of continuous stream-based processing, but these do not generally deal with complex data such as images.

Challenges

Mobile cameras

mobile cameras have variable position and orientation

sample a large spatial area but at low temporal resolution

the views of any particular place are distributed across many different video streams

Interpreting the data

mobile cameras have both variable location and orientation

mobile cameras sample a large spatial area at low temporal resolution

the views of a particular place are distributed across many different video streams acquired by different sensors on different mobile units

the cameras are continually moving; there is no stable background image which makes it difficult to do motion-based segmentation

How to deal with large numbers (eg. 1000 or 10000) of real-time streams, including both video and trajectory information.

In the data-management field new systems are being developed to deal with the demands of continuous stream-based processing, but these do not generally deal with complex data such as images.

Mobile Wide-area Video Surveillance System Copyright DTI, Confidential DTI's solution views from an arbitrary perspective can be constructed by indexing, organising, and transforming images collected from multiple streams acquired from a network of mobile cameras supports retrieval of raw images based on constraints of space, time, and geometry (eg. visibility of landmarks) allows the synthesis of wide-angle panoramic views in situations where the camera motion produces suitable sampling of the scene and metaphors for query and presentation that overcome the complexity of the data There are no other systems currently able to effectively address such issues in wide area investigations Although mobile cameras are used in specialised applications such as aerial survey or observation of harsh or dangerous environments (eg. undersea robots) there appear to be no current attempts to use networks of mobile cameras to observe the places where people typically live and interact.

DTI's solution

views from an arbitrary perspective can be constructed by indexing, organising, and transforming images collected from multiple streams acquired from a network of mobile cameras

supports retrieval of raw images based on constraints of space, time, and geometry (eg. visibility of landmarks)

allows the synthesis of wide-angle panoramic views in situations where the camera motion produces suitable sampling of the scene and metaphors for query and presentation that overcome the complexity of the data

There are no other systems currently able to effectively address such issues in wide area investigations

Although mobile cameras are used in specialised applications such as aerial survey or observation of harsh or dangerous environments (eg. undersea robots) there appear to be no current attempts to use networks of mobile cameras to observe the places where people typically live and interact.

Technology Overview – Virtual Observer Copyright DTI DTI's system Virtual Observer utilizes video feeds from mobile cameras to deliver a new wide area urban surveillance capability Synthesizes video streams that originate from multiple roaming cameras to reconstruct ‘fixed location’ views – i.e. placement of a virtual camera at any street location Source cameras or streams typically includes public transit Applications cover security and surveillance (policing, counter terrorism), military and defense A software engineering solution A collaboration between DTI Group Ltd and Curtin University Global patents pending

DTI's system

Virtual Observer utilizes video feeds from mobile cameras to deliver a new wide area urban surveillance capability

Synthesizes video streams that originate from multiple roaming cameras to reconstruct ‘fixed location’ views – i.e. placement of a virtual camera at any street location

Source cameras or streams typically includes public transit

Applications cover security and surveillance (policing, counter terrorism), military and defense

A software engineering solution

A collaboration between DTI Group Ltd and Curtin University

Global patents pending

Technology Overview – Virtual Observers Copyright DTI Virtual Observers A virtual observer is an imaginary camera placed in the area covered by the sensor network Each observer has: Position – Radius – Orientation - Field of view Schematic view of a virtual observer placed on a map. The trajectories on the map indicate the paths of the buses. The background is an image of the street directory.

Virtual Observers

A virtual observer is an imaginary camera placed in the area covered by the sensor network

Each observer has: Position – Radius – Orientation - Field of view

Technology Overview – Virtual Observers Copyright DTI Wide Area Coverage

DTI Group Ltd Copyright DTI Largest provider of mass transit security (digital CCTV systems) in Australia Supplier of digital CCTV systems to the US bus/train market through General Electric Supplier of digital CCTV systems to the British bus market Public transit security focused (bus, rail, ferry) - provides advanced surveillance systems, solutions, and services to the global mass transit industry On-board recording equipment, fleet management systems, back-end mass storage and retrieval facilities and end-to-end outsourced managed services The company’s range of public transport technologies has been developed and refined across more than a decade's operating experience in the bus and rail markets. Over the last few years, DTI has delivered over 10,000 video surveillance systems globally to public transport operators DTI Group Ltd is an Australian public company

Largest provider of mass transit security (digital CCTV systems) in Australia Supplier of digital CCTV systems to the US bus/train market through General Electric Supplier of digital CCTV systems to the British bus market

Public transit security focused (bus, rail, ferry) - provides advanced surveillance systems, solutions, and services to the global mass transit industry

On-board recording equipment, fleet management systems, back-end mass storage and retrieval facilities and end-to-end outsourced managed services

The company’s range of public transport technologies has been developed and refined across more than a decade's operating experience in the bus and rail markets.

Over the last few years, DTI has delivered over 10,000 video surveillance systems globally to public transport operators

DTI Group Ltd is an Australian public company

DTI - Contact – more information Copyright DTI The Netherlands Contact Jaap Spiering +31 (0) 614266871 Head office DTI - Digital Technology International 116 Fauntleroy Avenue Perth Airport WA 6105 Australia CEO Richard Johnson Phone +61 (0)8 9479 1195 Website http://www.dti.com.au