A network of cooperative cameras for visual surveillance

A network of co-operative cameras for the visual surveillance of parking lots is presented. Such a network employs multiple subnets able to manage static and active cameras in a hierarchical framework. The system is able to track multiple targets simultaneously and in real-time throughout the controlled areas. The positions of detected objects, computed from different sensors, are fused considering a dynamic reliability factor for each sensor reading. Close-up recordings of suspicious events are obtained by tasking the active camera systems (ACSs). The co-operation is performed through a multicast communication system studied to transmit useful data both intra and inter networks. In particular, information about the position of the object to track, sent by a static camera system (SCS), is used by an ACS to operate an initial repositioning. The ACS compensates background changes owing to the camera motion, detects mobile objects in the scene and autonomously tracks the object of interest. Tracking results are presented in the context of a video surveillance application for a parking lot.