Patent ID: 7327383
Filing Date: 2008-02-05
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A method for correlating tracking data, associated with an activity occurring in a three-dimensional space, with images captured within the space, wherein remotely-accessible identification tags attached to people and/or objects associated with the activity are linked to one or more databases that uniquely identify characteristics of the people and/or objects, said method comprising the steps of: (a) locating a camera with respect to the three-dimensional space, wherein the camera at a given location has a determinable orientation and field of view that encompasses at least a portion of the space; (b) capturing a plurality of images with the camera and storing data corresponding to the images, including a capture time for each image; (c) capturing tracking data from the identification tags attached to the people and/or objects within the space and storing the tracking data, including a tag capture time for each time that a tag is remotely accessed; (d) correlating each image and the tracking data by interrelating tracking data having a tag capture time in substantial correspondence with the capture time of each image, thereby generating track data corresponding to each image; (e) utilizing the track data to determine positions of the people and/or objects within the three dimensional space at the capture time of each image; and (f) utilizing the location and orientation of the camera to determine the portion of the space captured in each image and thereby reduce the track data to a track data subset corresponding to people and/or objects positioned within the portion of space captured in each image.