Apparatus and Method for Analyzing Sensor Data

Abstract

An apparatus for detecting an event of interest, comprises a first primitive event detector ( 8 b ) for generating a stream of first primitive events ( 10 b ) using a sensor data stream ( 4 ), the sensor data stream ( 4 ) carrying raw data at a sensor data rate, the raw data being associated to one or more properties determined for multiple observed objects ( 72 ) using one or more sensors, wherein a data rate of the stream of first primitive events ( 10 b ) is lower than the sensor data rate as well as a second primitive event detector ( 8 c ) for generating a stream of different second primitive events ( 10 c ) using the sensor data stream ( 4 ), wherein a data rate of the stream of the second primitive events ( 10 c ) is lower than the sensor data rate. An event detector ( 16 ) is operable to determine the event of interest using the streams ( 10 b, 10 c ) of the first and second primitive events.

1 - 26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . An apparatus for detecting an event of interest in a sports game, comprising:
 a first primitive event detector for generating a stream of first primitive events using a sensor data stream, the sensor data stream carrying kinematic data and an associated time stamp as a raw data at a sensor data rate, the raw data being associated to one or more kinematic properties determined for multiple observed objects at the time indicated by the time stamp using one or more sensors, wherein a data rate of the stream of first primitive events is lower than the sensor data rate;   a second primitive event detector for generating a stream of different second primitive events using the sensor data stream, wherein a data rate of the stream of the second primitive events is lower than the sensor data rate; and   an event detector operable to determine the event of interest using the streams of the first and second primitive events.   
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the kinematic data is based on location data indicating a geographic position of an observed object at the time indicated by the time stamp, wherein the location data is derived from location information of sensors placed at the observed objects. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein the kinematic data comprises position information, velocity information and acceleration information of an observed object. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the first and second primitive event detectors are operable to exclusively use the sensor data stream as an input. 
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein a proximity event is generated as the first or the second primitive event when position information of a first observed object and of a second observed object indicates that the second observed object is within a predetermined neighborhood of the first observed object. 
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , wherein the predetermined neighborhood is defined by a predetermined maximum distance between the first observed object and the second observed object. 
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein a remote event is generated as the first or the second primitive event when position information of a first observed object and of a second observed object indicates that the second observed object is outside of a predetermined neighborhood of the first observed object. 
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein a direction changed event is generated as the first or the second primitive event when a change of a velocity or an acceleration of an observed object exceeds a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         35 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein an idle event is generated as the first or the second primitive event, when a velocity of an observed object falls below a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         36 . The apparatus of  claim 35 , wherein the idle event is only generated when the velocity of the observed object falls below the predetermined threshold for at least a predetermined minimum duration. 
     
     
         37 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein an active event is generated as the first or the second primitive event, when a velocity of an observed object exceeds a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 37 , wherein the active event is only generated when the velocity of the observed object exceeds the predetermined threshold for at least a predetermined minimum duration. 
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein a line crossing event is generated as the first or the second primitive event, when a component of a position information of the first or the second observed object exceeds or falls below a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         40 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein a hit event is detected as the event of interest when the first primitive event detector detects a proximity event for the first object and the second object and when the second primitive event detector detects a direction change event for the second object, the hit event indicating that the second object was hit by the first object. 
     
     
         41 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , further comprising a further event detector for detecting a further event of interest using the first primitive event and the event of interest. 
     
     
         42 . The apparatus of  claim 41 , wherein an object possession event is generated as the further event of interest when a proximity event is detected by the first primitive event detector and when a hit event is detected by the event detector. 
     
     
         43 . The apparatus of  claim 41 , wherein an object loss event is generated as the further event of interest when a remote event is detected by the first primitive event detector and when a hit event is detected by the event detector. 
     
     
         44 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the event detector is implemented as a state machine. 
     
     
         45 . A method for detecting an event of interest in a sports game, the method comprising:
 generating a stream of first primitive events using a sensor data stream, the sensor data stream carrying kinematic data and an associated time stamp as a raw data at a sensor data rate, the raw data being associated to one or more kinematic properties determined for multiple observed objects at the time indicated by the time stamp using one or more sensors, wherein a data rate of the stream of first primitive events is lower than the sensor data rate;   generating a stream of different second primitive events using the sensor data stream, wherein a data rate of the stream of the second primitive events is lower than the sensor data rate; and   determining the event of interest using the streams of the first and second primitive events.   
     
     
         46 . An analysis framework for analyzing raw data portions being transmitted in a sensor data stream at a sensor data rate to identify at least one event of interest in a sports game, each raw data portion being associated to one or more kinematic properties and an associated time stamp determined for an observed object at the time indicated by the time stamp using one or more sensors, the analysis framework comprising:
 an input layer comprising at least two or more primitive event detectors for generating at least a first and second stream of primitive events using exclusively the sensor data stream as an input wherein a data rate of the stream of first and second primitive events is lower than the sensor data rate; and   one or more event layers comprising one or more event detectors for detecting an event of interest,   wherein any one of the one or more event detectors uses only the streams of the first and the second primitive events or a stream of other events as provided by another one of the event detectors as an input.   
     
     
         47 . The analysis framework of  claim 46 , wherein the one or more event detectors of the one or more event layers are connected with the at least two or more primitive event detectors of the input layer via a network. 
     
     
         48 . The analysis framework of  claim 47 , wherein the network is a wired network. 
     
     
         49 . The analysis framework of  claim 47 , wherein a communication in the network is based on the Internet Protocol. 
     
     
         50 . The analysis framework of  claim 46 , wherein first and second primitive event detectors are operable to exclusively use kinematic data of an observed object as the raw data. 
     
     
         51 . A computer program for performing, when running on a computer, a method for detecting an event of interest in a sports game, the method comprising:
 generating a stream of first primitive events using a sensor data stream, the sensor data stream carrying kinematic data and an associated time stamp as a raw data at a sensor data rate, the raw data being associated to one or more kinematic properties determined for multiple observed objects at the time indicated by the time stamp using one or more sensors, wherein a data rate of the stream of first primitive events is lower than the sensor data rate;   generating a stream of different second primitive events using the sensor data stream, wherein a data rate of the stream of the second primitive events is lower than the sensor data rate; and   determining the event of interest using the streams of the first and second primitive events.