Context-Aware Visual Search Using a Pan-Tilt-Zoom Camera

Surveillance cameras are becoming more commonplace in public environments, as well as finding use in private security and military operations. We are particularly interested in scenarios where a single pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera is used to perform surveillance in large outdoor environments, which may include 360-degree horizontal coverage and depths out to 1 km or more. These scenarios exist in many environments such as security for building exteriors, airports, highways, parking lots, and property perimeters; anomaly detection in dense urban environments; and surveillance in military overwatch missions. In environments with many vertical obscurations (e.g., trees and buildings), ground-based cameras will need to be carefully located to provide long-range views. As the elevation of the camera is increased above the ground level, by placement on tall poles or building rooftops, for example, obtaining views of distant regions becomes easier.