Patents by Inventor Quanfu Fan
Quanfu Fan has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 8548203Abstract: Human behavior is determined by sequential event detection by constructing a temporal-event graph with vertices representing adjacent first and second primitive images of a plurality of individual primitive images parsed from a video stream, and also of first and second idle states associated with the respective first and second primitive images. Constructing the graph is a function of an edge set between the adjacent first and second primitive images, and an edge weight set as a function of a discrepancy between computed visual features within regions of interest common to the adjacent first and second primitive images. A human activity event is determined as a function of a shortest distance path of the temporal-event graph vertices.Type: GrantFiled: July 12, 2010Date of Patent: October 1, 2013Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Russell P. Bobbitt, Lei Ding, Quanfu Fan, Sachiko Miyazawa, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti, Yun Zhai
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Publication number: 20130250115Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide a system, method, and program product to determine whether a product has been successfully purchased by identifying in a video record when a movement of a product adjacent to a scanner occurs, and whether the scanner did not record a purchase transaction at that time; measuring a difference in time between the time of the movement of the product and a time of another movement of a product, and determining by a trained support vector machine a likelihood that the product was successfully purchased. Alternately, the difference in time can be measured between the time of the movement of the product and a time of a transaction record, or between the time of the movement of the product and a boundary time. The support vector machine can use a radial basis function kernel and can generate a decision value and a confidence score.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 23, 2012Publication date: September 26, 2013Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: Quanfu Fan, Sachiko Miyazawa, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti, Hoang Trinh
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Patent number: 8494214Abstract: An approach that dynamically learns a set of attributes of an operator of a point of sale (POS) is provided. In one embodiment, there is an attribute tool, including an extraction component configured to receive sensor data of a set of moving objects, and extract a set of attributes from each of the set of moving objects captured within the scan area at the POS; an identification component configured to update an appearance model with the set of attributes from each of the set of moving objects; and an analysis component configured to analyze the appearance model to identify at least one of the set of moving objects as an operator of the POS.Type: GrantFiled: October 30, 2008Date of Patent: July 23, 2013Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings CorporationInventors: Russell P. Bobbitt, Quanfu Fan, Arun Hampapur, Frederik C. M. Kjeldsen, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti, Akira Yanagawa, Yun Zhai
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Patent number: 8478048Abstract: In an embodiment, automated analysis of video data for determination of human behavior includes providing a programmable device that segments a video stream into a plurality of discrete individual frame image primitives which are combined into a visual event that may encompass an activity of concern as a function of a hypothesis. The visual event is optimized by setting a binary variable to true or false as a function of one or more constraints. The optimized visual event is processed in view of associated non-video transaction data and the binary variable by associating the optimized visual event with a logged transaction if associable, issuing an alert if the binary variable is true and the optimized visual event is not associable with the logged transaction, and dropping the optimized visual event if the binary variable is false and the optimized visual event is not associable.Type: GrantFiled: July 8, 2010Date of Patent: July 2, 2013Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Lei Ding, Quanfu Fan, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti
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Patent number: 8429016Abstract: Techniques for generating an alert based on absence of a given person in a transaction are provided. The techniques include monitoring, via video, a transaction, wherein the transaction includes presence of a given person in the transaction, relating the video of the transaction to a corresponding portion of a transaction log (TLOG), using the video and corresponding portion of the TLOG to detect if the given person in the transaction is present, and generating an alert if the given person is not present at the transaction.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2008Date of Patent: April 23, 2013Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Russell Patrick Bobbitt, Quanfu Fan, Arun Hampapur, Frederik Kjeldsen, Sharathchandra Umapathirao Pankanti, Akira Yanagawa, Yun Zhai
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Publication number: 20130050517Abstract: Visual content in images captured from a scene by a camera in each of a plurality of different pose settings are analyzed to determine predicted occurrences of a transaction associated with the visual content in each pose, which are compared with actual transaction occurrence data to generate performance values for each pose as a function difference between the predicted and actual transactions. Optimized poses are chosen having the best performance value, wherein a camera controller may place the camera in the optimum pose for use in monitoring the scene and generating the primitives of interest associated with the transactions.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 26, 2011Publication date: February 28, 2013Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: Quanfu Fan, Prasad Gabbur, Sachiko Miyazawa, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti, Hoang Trinh
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Publication number: 20130051613Abstract: A foreground object blob having a bounding box detected in frame image data is classified by a finite state machine as a background, moving foreground, or temporally static object, namely as the temporally static object when the detected bounding box is distinguished from a background model of a scene image of the video data input and remains static in the scene image for a threshold period. The bounding box is tracked through matching masks in subsequent frame data of the video data input, and the object sub-classified within a visible sub-state, an occluded sub-state, or another sub-state that is not visible and not occluded as a function of a static value ratio. The ratio is a number of pixels determined to be static by tracking in a foreground region of the background model corresponding to the tracked object bounding box over a total number of pixels of the foreground region.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 29, 2011Publication date: February 28, 2013Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: Russell P. Bobbitt, Quanfu Fan, Zuoxuan Lu, Jiyan Pan, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti
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Publication number: 20130044942Abstract: Events are classified through string pattern recognition. Text labels are assigned to image primitives in a time-ordered set of training images and to related time-ordered transactions in an associated training transaction log in a combined time-ordered training string of text labels as a function of image types. Transactions are labeled in a training transaction log with a transaction label, a training primitive image of a start of a transaction with a start image text label, a training primitive of an entry of a transaction into the log with an entry image text label, and a training primitive of a conclusion of a transaction with an ending image text label. Positive subset string patterns are discovered representing true events from the combined time-ordered training string of text labels, and negative subset string patterns defined by removing single transaction primitive labels from the positive subset string patterns.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 19, 2011Publication date: February 21, 2013Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: Quanfu Fan, Prasad Gabbur, Sachiko Miyazawa, Jiyan Pan, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti, Hoang Trinh
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Patent number: 8345101Abstract: Techniques for automatically calibrating one or more regions of interest for video surveillance are provided. The techniques include at a user-defined frequency, determining if one or more regions of interest (ROIs) are present within a field of view of a camera, if one or more ROIs are present within the field of view of the camera, automatically calibrating the one or more ROIs within the field of view of the camera, and if one or more ROIs are not present within the field of view of the camera, sending an alert to a user.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2008Date of Patent: January 1, 2013Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Russell Patrick Bobbitt, Quanfu Fan, Arun Hampapur, Frederik Kjeldsen, Sharathchandra Umapathirao Pankanti, Akira Yanagawa, Yun Zhai
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Publication number: 20120293661Abstract: An approach to reduce the processing power required to monitor check-out stations. A subset of check-out stations may be monitored at any given time, instead of monitoring all check-out stations at all times. The subset of check-out stations is determined dynamically according to, but not limited to, cashier records, input parameters from the user, current lane activity, past lane activity, time of day, etc. Statistical models (e.g., effective population sampling and/or population hypothesis tests) are developed along these lines that guide the lane selection process, whereby increases in the false-negative rate due to failure to monitor particular lanes when events of interest occur are controlled. By monitoring fewer check-out stations, while maintaining target performance accuracy, the amount of data that end users must deal with is significantly reduced.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 27, 2012Publication date: November 22, 2012Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: Russell Patrick Bobbitt, Quanfu Fan, Sachiko Miyazawa, Sharathchandra Umapathirao Pankanti, Yun Zhai
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Patent number: 8259175Abstract: The present invention involves implementation of an intelligent switching program, whereby the processing power required to monitor check-out stations is considerably reduced. The present invention monitors a subset of check-out stations at any given time, instead of monitoring all check-out stations at all times. The subset of check-out stations is determined dynamically according to, but not limited to, cashier records, input parameters from the user, current lane activity, past lane activity, time of day, etc. Statistical models (e.g., effective population sampling and/or population hypothesis tests) are developed along these lines that guide the lane selection process, whereby increases in the false-negative rate due to failure to monitor particular lanes when events of interest occur are controlled. By monitoring fewer check-out stations, while maintaining target performance accuracy, the amount of data that end users must deal with is significantly reduced.Type: GrantFiled: February 1, 2010Date of Patent: September 4, 2012Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Russell Patrick Bobbitt, Quanfu Fan, Sachiko Miyazawa, Sharathchandra Umapathirao Pankanti, Yun Zhai
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Publication number: 20120218414Abstract: Techniques for detecting one or more events are provided. The techniques include using multiple overlapping regions of interest on a video sequence to cover a location for one or more events, wherein each event is associated with at least one of the multiple overlapping regions of interest, applying multiple-instance learning to the video sequence to select one or more of the multiple overlapping regions of interest to construct one or more location-aware event models, and applying the models to the video sequence to detect the one or more events and to determine the one or more regions of interest that are associated with the one or more events.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 4, 2012Publication date: August 30, 2012Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: Russell Patrick Bobbitt, Quanfu Fan, Arun Hampapur, Frederik Kjeldsen, Sharathchandra Umapathirao Pankanti, Akira Yanagawa, Yun Zhai
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Patent number: 8253831Abstract: Techniques for detecting one or more events are provided. The techniques include using one or more regions of interest on a video sequence to cover a location for one or more events, wherein each event is associated with at least one of the one or more regions of interest, applying multiple-instance learning to the video sequence to construct one or more location-aware event models, and applying the models to the video sequence to determine the one or more regions of interest that are associated with the one or more events.Type: GrantFiled: November 29, 2008Date of Patent: August 28, 2012Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Russell Patrick Bobbitt, Quanfu Fan, Arun Hampapur, Frederik Kjeldsen, Sharathchandra Umapathirao Pankanti, Akira Yanagawa, Yun Zhai
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Patent number: 8165349Abstract: Techniques for analyzing one or more sequential events performed by a human actor to evaluate efficiency of the human actor are provided. The techniques include identifying one or more segments in a video sequence as one or more components of one or more sequential events performed by a human actor, integrating the one or more components into one or more sequential events by incorporating a spatiotemporal model and one or more event detectors, and analyzing the one or more sequential events to analyze behavior of the human actor.Type: GrantFiled: November 29, 2008Date of Patent: April 24, 2012Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Russell Patrick Bobbitt, Quanfu Fan, Arun Hampapur, Frederik Kjeldsen, Sharathchandra Umapathirao Pankanti, Akira Yanagawa, Yun Zhai
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Publication number: 20120093370Abstract: Determination of human behavior from an alignment of data streams includes acquiring visual image primitives from a video input comprising visual information relevant to a human activity. The primitives are temporally aligned to an optimally hypothesized sequence of primitives transformed from a sequence of transactions as a function of a distance metric between the observed primitive sequence and the transformed primitive sequence. More particularly, transforming includes comparing the distance metric costs and choosing and performing the lowest cost of temporally matching the observed primitives to one or more transactions, deleting a primitive, or associating a primitive with a pseudo transaction marker. Accordingly, alerts are issued based on analysis of the transformation of primitives.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 15, 2010Publication date: April 19, 2012Applicant: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Lei Ding, Quanfu Fan, Prasad Gabbur, Arun Hampapur, Sachiko Miyazawa, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti
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Publication number: 20120075450Abstract: Human behavior alerts are determined from a video stream through application of video analytics that parse a video stream into a plurality of segments, wherein each of the segments are either temporally related to at least one of a plurality of temporally distinct transactions in an event data log; or they are each associated with a pseudo transaction marker if not temporally related to at least one of the temporally distinct transactions and an image analysis indicates a temporal correlation with at least one of the distinct transactions is expected. Visual image features are extracted from the segments and one-SVM classification is performed on the extracted features to categorize segments into inliers or outliers relative to a threshold boundary. Event of concern alerts are issued with respect to the inlier segments associated with the associated pseudo transaction marker.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 24, 2010Publication date: March 29, 2012Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: Lei Ding, Quanfu Fan, Arun Hampapur, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti
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Publication number: 20120008819Abstract: In an embodiment, automated analysis of video data for determination of human behavior includes providing a programmable device that segments a video stream into a plurality of discrete individual frame image primitives which are combined into a visual event that may encompass an activity of concern as a function of a hypothesis. The visual event is optimized by setting a binary variable to true or false as a function of one or more constraints. The optimized visual event is processed in view of associated non-video transaction data and the binary variable by associating the optimized visual event with a logged transaction if associable, issuing an alert if the binary variable is true and the optimized visual event is not associable with the logged transaction, and dropping the optimized visual event if the binary variable is false and the optimized visual event is not associable.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 8, 2010Publication date: January 12, 2012Applicant: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Lei Ding, Quanfu Fan, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti
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Publication number: 20120008836Abstract: Human behavior is determined by sequential event detection by constructing a temporal-event graph with vertices representing adjacent first and second primitive images of a plurality of individual primitive images parsed from a video stream, and also of first and second idle states associated with the respective first and second primitive images. Constructing the graph is a function of an edge set between the adjacent first and second primitive images, and an edge weight set as a function of a discrepancy between computed visual features within regions of interest common to the adjacent first and second primitive images. A human activity event is determined as a function of a shortest distance path of the temporal-event graph vertices.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 12, 2010Publication date: January 12, 2012Applicant: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Russell P. Bobbitt, Lei Ding, Quanfu Fan, Sachiko Miyazawa, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti, Yun Zhai
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Publication number: 20110280547Abstract: Video analytics data is audited through review of selective visual essence subsets of visual images from a visual image stream as a function of a temporal relationship of the essence subset images to a triggering alert event. The visual essence subset comprehends an image contemporaneous with the triggering alert event and one or more other images occurring before or after the contemporaneous image. The generated visual essence is presented for review to determine whether the triggering alert event is a true or false alert, or whether additional data from the visual image stream is required to make such a determination. If determined from the presented visual essence that the additional data is required make the true or false determination, then additional data is presented from the visual image stream for review.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 7, 2011Publication date: November 17, 2011Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: Quanfu Fan, Zuoxuan Lu, Sachiko Miyazawa, Sharathchandra U. Pankanti
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Publication number: 20110188701Abstract: The present invention involves implementation of an intelligent switching program, whereby the processing power required to monitor check-out stations is considerably reduced. The present invention monitors a subset of check-out stations at any given time, instead of monitoring all check-out stations at all times. The subset of check-out stations is determined dynamically according to, but not limited to, cashier records, input parameters from the user, current lane activity, past lane activity, time of day, etc. Statistical models (e.g., effective population sampling and/or population hypothesis tests) are developed along these lines that guide the lane selection process, whereby increases in the false-negative rate due to failure to monitor particular lanes when events of interest occur are controlled. By monitoring fewer check-out stations, while maintaining target performance accuracy, the amount of data that end users must deal with is significantly reduced.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 1, 2010Publication date: August 4, 2011Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: Russell Patrick Bobbitt, Quanfu Fan, Sachiko Miyazawa, Sharathchandra Umapathirao Pankanti, Yun Zhai