Systems and Methods for Image-Based Location Determination and Parking Monitoring

Abstract

Embodiments relate to systems, methods and computer readable media for parking monitoring in an urban area by image processing operations. Embodiments perform parking monitoring by capturing images of an urban area, comparing captured images with reference images to determine location and parking conditions. Embodiments processes captured images to detect licence plates, vehicles or parking signs to determine compliance of vehicles with parking conditions.

1 . A system for location determination, the system comprising:
 a computing device comprising at least one processor and a memory accessible to the at least one processor;   wherein the memory comprises a library of reference background images and metadata for each reference background image, wherein the metadata comprises location information; and   wherein the memory stores program code executable by the at least one processor to configure the at least one processor to:
 receive an input image data from a remote computing device, wherein the input image data includes image data of at least one image captured by the remote computing device at a location to be determined; 
 process the received input image data using a background matching module to identify matching reference background image; 
 determine location information corresponding to the input image data based on the metadata of the matching reference background image in the library; and 
 transmit the determined location information to the remote computing device. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the background matching module comprises: a background feature extractor neural network, and the at least one processor is further configured to identify the matching reference background image by:
 extracting background descriptors from the at least one captured image using the background feature extractor neural network;   selecting one or more candidate matching images from the library of background images based on the extracted background descriptors;   performing geometric matching between the at least one captured image and the candidate matching images to select the matching reference background image.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the geometric matching comprises identifying common visual features in the at least one captured image and each of the candidate matching images. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the geometric matching is performed using a random sample consensus process. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the background feature extractor neural network is trained to extract background descriptors corresponding to one or more stationary features in the at least one captured image. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  1 , wherein the memory stores program code executable by the at least one processor to further configure the at least one processor to:
 receive GPS data corresponding to the input image from the remote computing device, wherein the GPS data comprises a low data quality indicator;   information;   generate a GPS correction signal based on the determined location transmit the GPS correction signal to the remote computing device.   
     
     
         7 . A vehicle mounted system for location determination in an urban area, the system comprising:
 at least one camera, wherein the at least one camera is positioned to capture images of the urban area;   a computing device in communication with the at least one camera to receive the captured images, the computing device comprising at least one processor and a memory accessible to the at least one processor, the memory comprising a library of reference background images;
 wherein the memory comprises program code executable by the at least one processor to configure the at least one processor to: 
 extract background descriptors from at least one captured image; 
 select one or more candidate matching reference images from the library of background images based on the extracted background descriptors; 
 perform geometric matching between the at least one captured image and the one or more candidate matching reference images to select a single matching reference background image; and 
 determine a location of the vehicle based on the single matching reference background image. 
   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the memory further comprises location metadata corresponding to each reference background image; and
 the location of the vehicle is determined based on the location metadata corresponding to corresponding to the single matching reference background image.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the background descriptors are extracted from at least one captured image using a background feature extractor neural network. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein determining the location is performed in real time. 
     
     
         11 . A computer implemented method for determining a location of a vehicle, the method performed by a vehicle mounted computing device comprising at least one processor in communication with a memory, the memory comprising a library of reference background images, the method comprising:
 receiving images of an urban area captured by a camera in communication with the computing device;   extracting background descriptors from at least one image captured by the camera;   selecting one or more candidate matching reference images from the library of background images based on the extracted background descriptors;   perform geometric matching between the at least one captured image and the one or more candidate matching reference images to select a single matching reference background image; and   determine a location of the vehicle based on the single matching reference background image.   
     
     
         12 . A computer implemented method for determining a location of a vehicle in an urban area, the method performed by a vehicle mounted computing device comprising at least one processor in communication with a memory and at least one camera, the memory comprising a library of reference background images, the method comprising:
 capturing an image of the urban area while the at least one camera is moving in the urban area;   processing the captured image using a background matching module to identify a matching reference background image;   determining a location of the vehicle based on a metadata of the matching reference background image.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one camera is mounted on the vehicle. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the determination of the location of the vehicle is performed in real time by the vehicle mounted computing device. 
     
     
         15 . A system for location determination in an urban area, the system comprising:
 at least one camera, wherein the at least one camera is positioned to capture images of the urban area while the at least one camera is moving in the urban area;   a computing device moving with the at least one camera and in communication with the at least one camera to receive the captured images;   the computing device comprising at least one processor and a memory accessible to the at least one processor;   wherein the memory comprises a library of reference background images and metadata for each reference background image, wherein the metadata comprises location information;   wherein the memory stores program code executable by the at least one processor to configure the at least one processor to:
 process a captured image using a background matching module to identify a matching reference background image; 
 determine a location of the at least one camera and the computing device based on the metadata of the matching reference background image. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein processing the captured image using a background matching module comprises:
 extracting background descriptors from the captured image;   selecting one or more candidate matching images from the library of reference background images based on the extracted background descriptors;   performing geometric matching between the captured image and the candidate matching images to select the matching reference background image.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the background matching module comprises a background feature extractor neural network configured to extract background descriptors corresponding to one or more stationary features in the at least one captured image. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the geometric matching is performed using a random sample consensus process; and
 wherein the geometric matching comprises identifying common visual features in the at least one captured image and each of the candidate matching images.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the computing device is configured to determine the location in real-time. 
     
     
         20 . A vehicle mounted with the system of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one camera is mounted on the vehicle to capture images of a vicinity of the vehicle.