Method and system of selecting a view from a plurality of cameras

Abstract

A system and method of selecting an area of interest from a plurality of images captured by a plurality of cameras are described. The method includes receiving a request for an area of interest from a plurality of images, the area of interest containing an object of interest selected by a user, the object of interest being captured in one or more images captured by one or more of the plurality of cameras, the plurality of cameras having overlapping field of views; determining a camera within the plurality of cameras that wholly contains the area of interest; transforming the physical location of the object of interest into a pixel position such that the area of interest being essentially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest; and extracting the area of interest.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method of selecting an area of interest from a plurality of images captured by a plurality of cameras, the method being implemented by a computer system that includes one or more processor units configured to execute computer program modules, the method comprising:
 receiving, by the one or more processor units, a request for an area of interest from a plurality of images, the area of interest containing an object of interest selected by a user, the object of interest being captured in one or more images captured by one or more of the plurality of cameras, the plurality of cameras having overlapping field of views such that images captured by the plurality of cameras have a plurality of overlapping regions, the request containing an identity of the object of interest;   determining, by the one or more processor units, a camera within the plurality of cameras that wholly contains the area of interest using the physical location of the object of interest;   transforming, by the one or more processor units, the physical location of the object of interest into a pixel position within an image of a specific camera within the plurality of cameras such that the area of interest being essentially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest, and is wholly contained within the image captured by the specific camera; and   extracting, by the one or more processor units, the area of interest substantially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising, wherein the request further comprises dimensions of an output device. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the request is received through a network using network protocol. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cameras are static. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cameras are substantially color-matched. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality cameras are substantially synchronized in time. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cameras are arranged in a matrix configuration. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising processing the extracted area of interest to correct for distortion. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising generating a video codestream containing the area of interest by encoding the extracted area of interest into a video codestream. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , further comprising storing the video codestream in memory. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 , further comprising transmitting the video codestream to the client that made the request. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 9 , further comprising storing the video codestream in a storage device. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 9 , further comprising displaying the video codestream containing the area of interest on a display device. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising repeating determining a camera within the plurality of cameras that wholly contains the area of interest using the physical location of the object of interest; transforming the physical location of the object of interest into a pixel position within an image of a specific camera within the plurality of cameras such that the area of interest being essentially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest, and is wholly contained within the image captured by the specific camera; and extracting the area of interest substantially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest until the request is cancelled or the method is terminated. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising extracting a plurality of areas of interest from a plurality of images captured by the plurality of cameras. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the object of interest is within a field of view of at least one camera in the plurality of cameras. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the area of interest is contained within at least one overlapping region in the plurality of overlapping regions. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the object of interest moves from a field of view of one camera in the plurality of cameras to a field of view of another camera in the plurality of cameras. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein each camera in the plurality of cameras captures a plurality of sequential images. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 19 , wherein at least one of the plurality of sequential images contains the objects of interest. 
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising computing, by the one or more processor units, a physical location of the object of interest using data from a locator beacon associated with the object. 
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 21 , wherein the locator beacon comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), an optical sensor, an image pattern, or a marking, or any combination of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         23 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the object of interest is a football player, a soccer player, a baseball player, a car, a horse, a projectile. 
     
     
         24 . A method of extracting an area of interest containing an object of interest from a plurality of images captured using a plurality of cameras, the method being implemented by a computer system that includes one or more processor units configured to execute computer program modules, the method comprising:
 determining, by the one or more processor units, using the data of the locator or the physical location of the object of interest, a camera within the plurality of cameras that wholly contains the area of interest, the area of interest containing the object of interest, the object of interest being captured in one or more images captured by one or more of the plurality of cameras, the plurality of cameras having overlapping field of views such that images captured by the plurality of cameras have a plurality of overlapping regions;   transforming, by the one or more processor units, the physical location of the object of interest into a pixel position within an image of a specific camera within the plurality of cameras such that the area of interest is essentially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest, and is wholly contained within the image captured by the specific camera; and   extracting, by the one or more processor units, the area of interest substantially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest.   
     
     
         25 . The method according to  claim 24 , further computing, by the one or more processor units, a physical location of the object of interest using data from a locator beacon associated with the object. 
     
     
         26 . The method according to  claim 25 , wherein the locator beacon comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), an optical sensor, an image pattern, or a marking, or any combination of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         27 . A computer system for selecting an area of interest from a plurality of images captured by a plurality of cameras, the system comprising one or more processor units configured to:
 receive a request for an area of interest from a plurality of images, the area of interest containing an object of interest selected by a user, the object of interest being captured in one or more images captured by one or more of the plurality of cameras, the plurality of cameras having overlapping field of views such that images captured by the plurality of cameras have a plurality of overlapping regions, the request containing an identity of the object of interest;   determine a camera within the plurality of cameras that wholly contains the area of interest using the physical location of the object of interest;   transform the physical location of the object of interest into a pixel position within an image of a specific camera within the plurality of cameras such that the area of interest being essentially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest, and is wholly contained within the image captured by the specific camera; and   extract the area of interest substantially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest.   
     
     
         28 . The system according to  claim 27 , further comprising, wherein the request further comprises dimensions of an output device. 
     
     
         29 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the pone or more processor is configured to receive the request through a network using network protocol. 
     
     
         30 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the plurality of cameras are static. 
     
     
         31 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the plurality of cameras are substantially color-matched. 
     
     
         32 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the plurality cameras are substantially synchronized in time. 
     
     
         33 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the plurality of cameras are arranged in a matrix configuration. 
     
     
         34 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the one or more processor units are configured to process the extracted area of interest to correct for distortion. 
     
     
         35 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the one or more processor units are configured to generate a video codestream containing the area of interest by encoding the extracted area of interest into a video codestream. 
     
     
         36 . The system according to  claim 35 , further comprising a memory configured to store the video codestream. 
     
     
         37 . The system according to  claim 36 , wherein the one or more processor units are configured to transmit the video codestream to the client that made the request. 
     
     
         38 . The system according to  claim 35 , further comprising a storage device configured to store the video codestream. 
     
     
         39 . The system according to  claim 35 , wherein the one or more processor units are configured to display the video codestream containing the area of interest on a display device. 
     
     
         40 . The system according to  claim 27 , further comprising repeating determining a camera within the plurality of cameras that wholly contains the area of interest using the physical location of the object of interest; transforming the physical location of the object of interest into a pixel position within an image of a specific camera within the plurality of cameras such that the area of interest being essentially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest, and is wholly contained within the image captured by the specific camera; and extracting the area of interest substantially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest until the request is cancelled or the method is terminated. 
     
     
         41 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the one or more processor units are configured to extract a plurality of areas of interest from a plurality of images captured by the plurality of cameras. 
     
     
         42 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the one or more processor units are configured to determine whether the object of interest is within a field of view of at least one camera in the plurality of cameras. 
     
     
         43 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the one or more processor units are configured to determine whether the area of interest is contained within at least one overlapping region in the plurality of overlapping regions. 
     
     
         44 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the object of interest moves from a field of view of one camera in the plurality of cameras to a field of view of another camera in the plurality of cameras. 
     
     
         45 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein each camera in the plurality of cameras captures a plurality of sequential images. 
     
     
         46 . The system according to  claim 45 , wherein at least one of the plurality of sequential images contains the object of interest. 
     
     
         47 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the one or more processor units are configured to compute a physical location of the object of interest using data from a locator beacon associated with the object. 
     
     
         48 . The system according to  claim 47 , wherein the locator beacon comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), an optical sensor, an image pattern, or a marking, or any combination of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         49 . The system according to  claim 27 , wherein the object of interest is a football player, a soccer player, a baseball player, a car, a horse, a projectile. 
     
     
         50 . A computer system for extracting an area of interest containing an object of interest from a plurality of images captured using a plurality of cameras, the computer system comprising one or more processor units configured to:
 determine using the data of the locator or the physical location of the object of interest, a camera within the plurality of cameras that wholly contains the area of interest, the area of interest containing the object of interest, the object of interest being captured in one or more images captured by one or more of the plurality of cameras, the plurality of cameras having overlapping field of views such that images captured by the plurality of cameras have a plurality of overlapping regions;   transform the physical location of the object of interest into a pixel position within an image of a specific camera within the plurality of cameras such that the area of interest is essentially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest, and is wholly contained within the image captured by the specific camera; and   extracting the area of interest substantially centered around the pixel position corresponding to the physical location of the object of interest.   
     
     
         51 . The system according to  claim 50 , wherein the one or more processor units are configured to compute a physical location of the object of interest using data from a locator beacon associated with the object. 
     
     
         52 . The system according to  claim 51 , wherein the locator beacon comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), an optical sensor, an image pattern, or a marking, or any combination of two or more thereof.