Image search system, image search apparatus, and image search method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016343147-A1
Application number	US-201515114585-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 14, 2015
Priority date	Jan 31, 2014
Publication date	Nov 24, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An image search system comprising an video taking unit that takes a video, a search unit that contains a processor and a storage unit and searches for an image contained in the video, an input unit that receives information that is input to the search unit, and a display unit that displays information that is output from the search unit. The storage unit holds information indicating the shapes of trajectories that represent the travel paths of a plurality of moving objects extracted from the video. When information indicating the shape of a trajectory is input from the input unit, the search unit searches the plurality of moving-object trajectories held in the storage unit for trajectories that are similar to the input trajectory shape, and if such a trajectory is found, the search unit displays, on the display unit, images of the moving objects that have traveled along the found trajectories.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An image search system, comprising:
a video taking unit configured to take a video; a search unit comprising a storage unit and configured to search for an image that is contained in the video; an input unit configured to receive information that is input to the search unit; and a display unit configured to display information that is output from the search unit, wherein the storage unit is configured to hold information indicating shapes of trajectories that represent travel paths of a plurality of moving objects extracted from the video, and wherein the search unit is configured to:
search, when information indicating a trajectory shape is input from the input unit, the trajectories of the plurality of moving objects that are held in the storage unit for trajectories that are similar to the input trajectory shape; and
display, on the display unit, images of the moving objects that have traveled along the trajectories found through the search.

2 . The image search system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the storage unit is configured to further hold information indicating image feature amounts of image areas of a plurality of types that are extracted from the video, and wherein the search unit is configured to:
calculate, when information indicating an image feature amount of at least one type of image area, and information indicating weights of a feature amount of the input trajectory shape and each image feature amount of the at least one type of image area are input from the input unit in addition to the information indicating a trajectory shape, similarity degree scores based on degrees of similarity between the input trajectory shape and the shapes of the trajectories of the plurality of moving objects that are held in the storage unit, degrees of similarity between the input image feature amount of the at least one type of image area and the image feature amounts held in the storage unit, and the weights; and
display, on the display unit, in an order of similarity degree scores, images of the moving objects that have traveled along the trajectories found through the search.

3 . The image search system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the storage unit is configured to further hold:
map information of a space taken by the video taking unit; and
conversion information for identifying a conversion parameter for conversion between coordinates on a map of the space and coordinates on a video taken by the video taking unit, and
wherein the search unit is configured to:
display a map of the space on the display unit;
convert, when information indicating a trajectory shape on the map of the space is input, the input trajectory shape into a trajectory shape on a video taken by the video taking unit, based on the conversion information; and
search the trajectories of the plurality of moving objects that are held in the storage unit for trajectories that are similar to the trajectory shape created by the conversion.

4 . The image search system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the storage unit is configured to further hold:
map information of a space taken by the video taking unit; and
conversion information for identifying a conversion parameter for conversion between coordinates on a map of the space and coordinates on a video taken by the video taking unit, and
wherein the search unit is configured to:
convert the trajectory shapes found through the search into trajectory shapes on the map of the space, based on the conversion information; and
display the map of the space and the trajectory shapes created by the conversion on the display unit.

5 . The image search system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the storage unit is configured to further hold information indicating movement time points of the plurality of moving objects, and wherein the search unit is configured to:
search, when information indicating a plurality of trajectory shapes is input from the input unit, the trajectories of the plurality of moving objects that are held in the storage unit for trajectories of a plurality of moving objects that are similar to the plurality of trajectory shapes input and that fulfill a given condition with regard to the movement time points; and
display, on the display unit, images of the plurality of moving objects that have traveled along the trajectories found through the search.

6 . An image search apparatus, comprising:
a processor; and a storage unit coupled to the processor, wherein the storage unit is configured to hold information indicating shapes of trajectories that represent travel paths of a plurality of moving objects extracted from a video taken by a video taking unit, and wherein the processor is configured to:
search, when information indicating a trajectory shape is input, the trajectories of the plurality of moving objects that are held in the storage unit for trajectories that are similar to the input trajectory shape; and
output images of the moving objects that have traveled along the trajectories found through the search.

7 . The image search apparatus according to claim 6 ,
wherein the storage unit is configured to further hold information indicating image feature amounts of image areas of a plurality of types that are extracted from the video, and wherein the processor is configured to:
calculate, when information indicating an image feature amount of at least one type of image area, and information indicating weights of a feature, amount of the input trajectory shape and each image feature amount of the at least one type of image area are input in addition to the information indicating a trajectory shape, similarity degree scores based on degrees of similarity between the input trajectory shape and the shapes of the trajectories of the plurality of moving objects that are held in the storage unit, degrees of similarity between the input image feature amount of the at least one type of image area and the image feature amounts held in the storage unit, and the weights; and
output information for displaying, in an order of similarity degree scores, images of the moving objects that have traveled along the trajectories found through the search.

8 . The image search apparatus according to claim 6 ,
wherein the storage unit is configured to further hold:
map information of a space taken by the video taking unit; and
conversion information for identifying a conversion parameter for conversion between coordinates on a map of the space and coordinates on a video taken by the video taking unit, and
wherein the processor is configured to:
output a map of the space;
convert, when information indicating a trajectory shape on the map of the space is input, the input trajectory shape into a trajectory shape on a video taken by the video taking unit, based on the conversion information; and
search the trajectories of the plurality of moving objects that are held in the storage unit for trajectories that are similar to the trajectory shape created by the conversion.

9 . The image search apparatus according to claim 6 ,
wherein the storage unit is configured to further hold:
map information of a space taken by the video taking unit; and
conversion information for identifying a conversion parameter for conversion between coordinates on a map of the space and coordinates on a video taken by the video taking unit, and
wherein the processor is configured to:
convert the trajectory shapes found through the search into trajectory shapes on the map of the space, based on the conversion information; and
output information indicating the map of the space and the trajectory shapes created by the conversion.

Assignees

• Hitachi Ltd

Inventors

• Nukaga Nobuo
• Matsubara Daisuke
• Watanabe Yuki
• Yoneji Kenichi
• Yoshinaga Tomoaki
• Hiroike Atsushi

Classifications

• G06F16/783 Primary

  using metadata automatically derived from the content · CPC title

• G06T7/246 Primary

  using feature-based methods, e.g. the tracking of corners or segments · CPC title

• G06F18/22

  Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures · CPC title

• G06T7/2033 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F17/30784

  Physics · mapped topic