Bringing the Dispatcher to the Scene with Panoramic Imaging and Remote Video Transmission. Final Report

摘要

Throughout the world, police agencies are equipping their vehicles with video recording systems to assist their agencies in the apprehension of criminals and in their prosecution. These video systems also play an important role in the protection of the officers by acting as a deterrent to violence directed towards the officer. Despite the contributions the video systems have made to law enforcement, a major drawback of the present-day system is that the majority of the systems only record the activity in front of the vehicle. To remove the forward only viewing capabilities, several systems are being developed utilizing multiple cameras to view all sides of the vehicle, or a pan and tilt mechanism either operated manually by an officer inside the vehicle or programmed to follow the officer outside the vehicle. The use of multiple cameras increases the overall cost of the system, and the pan and tilt systems also add cost to the overall system and only record in the direction the camera is pointed. The overall objective of the Phase I effort was to demonstrate the enhanced capabilities a 360-degree panoramic imager can provide and evaluate how this tool can be used in the field. The Phase I work concentrated on the development of a prototype 360-degree panoramic imager, the integration of the imager into a police car, developing the image processing software, and testing the resulting prototype. The specific objectives for the Phase I work were: 1. Determine the optimal viewing geometry for the panoramic imager. 2. Design, develop and fabricate the prototype 360-degree panoramic imager and develop the associated image processing software. 3. Demonstrate the capabilities of the 360-degree panoramic imager through bench and road testing.