System and method for video content analysis using depth sensing

1. A video content analysis method comprising:

capturing a video sequence that includes a plurality of frames, each frame including a video image;

for each frame, receiving two-dimensional (2D) image data of the video image and also receiving depth data associated with the image data;

analyzing the 2D image data, and based on an analysis of the 2D image data without the depth data detecting one or more objects depicted in the video sequence as potential human beings;

using the depth data along with the one or more detected objects to classify at least a first object of the one or more detected objects as a person to be tracked, wherein a volume of the one or more detected objects is used to classify at least the first object as a person to be tracked;

performing tracking on at least the first classified object; and

performing event detection analysis on the first classified object,

wherein the volume is determined by using the depth data along with the 2D image data to determine a plurality of convex hull slices on different Z-planes, and by summing areas of the plurality of convex hull slices.

2. The video content analysis method of claim 1 , further comprising:

using the depth data along with the one or more detected objects to additionally classify at least a second object of the one or more detected objects as an object not to be tracked.

3. The video content analysis method of claim 1 , wherein:

classifying the first object as an object to be tracked includes classifying the first object as an object above a predetermined height or volume threshold.

4. The video content analysis method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the image data to detect one or more objects depicted in the video sequence includes detecting at least one blob that corresponds to the one or more objects.

5. The video content analysis method of claim 1 , further comprising:

classifying at least the first object of the one or more detected objects as a person to be tracked by using the depth data associated with the one or more detected objects and without analyzing depth data associated with a portion of the video image that is not part of the one or more detected objects.

6. The video content analysis method of claim 1 , wherein the depth data is determined by a single depth sensor.

7. The video content analysis method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the 2D image data to detect one or more objects depicted in the video sequence as potential human beings includes performing two-dimensional (2D) analysis on the image data to perform motion and change detection.

8. The video content analysis method of claim 7 , wherein:

analyzing the 2D image data to detect one or more objects depicted in the video sequence as potential human beings further includes, based on the motion and change detection, detecting at least one blob that corresponds to the one or more objects; and

using the depth data along with the one or more detected objects to classify at least the first object of the one or more detected objects as a person to be tracked includes classifying only part of the blob as a target to be tracked.

9. The video content analysis method of claim 8 , further comprising:

using the depth data with the detected blob to determine that part of the blob does not correspond to the target to be tracked.

10. The video content analysis method of claim 8 , wherein using the depth data along with the one or more detected objects to classify at least the first object of the one or more detected objects as a person to be tracked includes using the depth data to determine that the one or more detected objects include two people.

11. A video surveillance system comprising:

one or more sensors that capture two-dimensional (2D) image data and depth data; and

a video content analysis system configured to:

receive a video sequence that includes a plurality of frames, each frame including the 2D image data;

for each frame, receive the 2D image data for that frame, and also receive depth data associated with the video image;

analyze the 2D image data to detect at least a first image blob in the video sequence;

use the depth data to project the first image blob onto a plurality of Z-planes, thereby creating a plurality of blob slices;

based on a height threshold, separate the blob slices into a ground plane blob slice, and non-ground plane blob slices;

create a refined blob that includes non-ground plane blob slices, and only a portion of the ground plane blob slice;

perform object detection on the refined blob, to determine that the blob corresponds to a human object, thereby detecting a person in the video;

perform tracking on the detected person; and

perform event detection analysis on the detected person.

12. The video content analysis method of claim 11 , wherein performing tracking includes performing motion and change detection.

13. The video content analysis method of claim 11 , wherein performing object detection on the refined blob includes determining that the refined blob includes two people.