Patent Document ID: 10049434
Application ID: 14884066
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A computing device for detecting an object of interest in an image comprising a plurality of pixels, the image being acquired from a vehicle, the computing device comprising: a memory device; and a processor communicatively coupled to said memory device and having encoded instructions that, when executed, are configured to process image data for the plurality of pixels in the image acquired onboard the vehicle by: applying a Laplace transform to respective contrast values of the plurality of pixels to detect edge transitions in the image, the Laplace transform identifying neighboring pixels among the plurality of pixels that are above a predetermined contrast value and thereby represent a potential object of interest; filtering the plurality of pixels based on color information to identify areas of high contrast where there is a color edge transition; applying a convolution filter mask to the plurality of pixels to yield a set of regions among the plurality of pixels having localized concentrations of contrast and color changes; applying a threshold filter to identify a subset of pixel regions having contrast values that are greater than a predetermined threshold value and grouping the identified subset of pixel regions into one or more groups representing an object of interest on a surface of a body of water; and generating an alert to notify an operator that the object of interest on the surface of a body of water in the image acquired on board the vehicle has been detected, wherein said processor is further configured to output a visual indicia overlaid on a display of the image to notify the operator the object of interest has been detected in the image.