Mohan Trivedi talks about using computer vision for face detection,
video surveillance and remote tele-viewing. [4:58]
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San
Diego, Sept. 4, 2002 -- The Computer Vision and Robotics Research
(CVRR) Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
has won federal funding for three separate research projects,
including one of the first awards from the group that coordinates
inter-agency U.S. counter-terrorism research. “Homeland security
has become a major focus for our group,” said Mohan Trivedi,
CVRR director and professor of electrical and computer engineering
at UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering. “We are making
great strides in the area of computer vision, and we expect all
of these projects to yield real-world results in the next 12 to
18 months.”
Trivedi--leader
of Cal-(IT)˛'s Intelligent Transportation and Telelmatics
layer at UCSD--is working on technologies that range from a handheld
computer that lets the user customize views of a remote crisis
site, to camera-network surveillance systems that are programmed
to alert authorities in the event of suspicious activity.
The
three projects announced today include:
-
“Real-Time
Face Detection, Localization and Correlation.” Initial
funding of $170,000 over 12 months comes from the Department
of Defense’s (DoD) Technical Support Working Group, which
coordinates inter-agency counter-terrorism research. Trivedi
is working on a system that automatically isolates all the faces
in a crowd, adjusts for environmental conditions such as changes
in lighting from day to night, and matches those faces against
a database. The system could be used to monitor public spaces
such as airports and embassies.
-
“Distributed
Interactive Video Arrays (DIVAs) for Surveillance and Security.”
A grant from the Office of Naval Research’s Independent
Applied Research program will fund the deployment of DIVAs--networks
of inter-linked, omni-directional (360°) cameras--along
a 3.5-mile stretch of San Diego coastline. The system will be
programmed for constant surveillance of the coastline and offshore
area, with human operators only entering the equation when the
computer detects suspicious activity on land or water and alerts
the appropriate authority.
-
“Digital
Tele-Viewer (DTV): Streaming Customized Video from Remote Crisis
Sites.” The DoD-funded Center for Commercialization of
Advanced Technology (CCAT) has approved a grant of $75,000 to
fund fast-track commercialization of software that turns a handheld
computer into a remote tele-viewer. The DTV can access video
streams from camera networks, and allow multiple users simultaneously
to customize their desired views of the site--panning, tilting
and zooming within the feed, without moving the cameras. The
DTV would allow federal, state, local and other security personnel
a low-cost way to monitor vulnerable areas simultaneously without
having to be located inside a command-and-control center.
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