Image processing method

1. An image processing method, comprising:

acquiring a video;

using an object detection engine to detect a person in the video, the object detection engine being integrated with an image signal processing pipeline;

using an encoder to compress the acquired video;

modifying the behaviour of the encoder based on an output of the object detection engine;

transmitting the compressed video over a network;

determining, by analysing the acquired video prior to or during transmission of the compressed video over the network, that the detected person has moved less than a pre-set distance; and

responsive to the determining, pausing the transmission of the compressed video over the network.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object detection engine is integrated with the image signal processing pipeline in an embedded image processor.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object detection engine receives raw digital video from an image sensor and analyses the raw digital video on a frame by frame basis.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object detection engine outputs data for each video frame describing:

a pose of one or more detected persons;

a location or coordinates of the one or more detected persons; and

a location or coordinates of at least one body part of the one or more detected persons.

5. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

extracting a thumbnail image from the video, the thumbnail image comprising a face of the detected person; and

sending a text alert to an end user, the text alert comprising the thumbnail, wherein the end user can choose to access a live video feed.

6. The method of claim 5 , comprising sending the alert responsive to determining, based on pre-defined rules, that the detected person is not an allowed person.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying the behaviour of the encoder comprises modifying one or more of:

compression ratio;

quantization;

output resolution; and

frame rate.

8. An embedded image processor comprising an object detection engine, the embedded image processor configured to:

acquire a video;

use the object detection engine to detect a person in the video, the object detection engine being integrated with an image signal processing pipeline;

use an encoder to compress the acquired video;

modify the behaviour of the encoder based on an output of the object detection engine;

transmit the compressed video over a network;

determine, by analysing the acquired video prior to or during transmission of the compressed video over the network, that the detected person has moved less than a pre-set distance; and

responsive to the determining, pause the transmission of the compressed video over the network.

9. The embedded image processor of claim 8 , wherein the object detection engine is integrated with the image signal processing pipeline in the embedded image processor.

10. The embedded image processor of claim 8 , wherein the object detection engine receives raw digital video from an image sensor and analyses the raw digital video on a frame by frame basis.

11. The embedded image processor of claim 8 , wherein the object detection engine outputs data for each video frame describing:

a pose of one or more detected persons;

a location or coordinates of the one or more detected persons; and

a location or coordinates of at least one body part of the one or more detected persons.

12. The embedded image processor of claim 8 , further configured to:

extract a thumbnail image from the video, the thumbnail image comprising a face of the detected person; and

send a text alert to an end user, the text alert comprising the thumbnail, wherein the end user can choose to access a live video feed.

13. The embedded image processor of claim 12 , further configured to send the alert responsive to determining, based on pre-defined rules, that the detected person is not an allowed person.

14. The embedded image processor of claim 8 , wherein the object detection engine and the image signal processing pipeline:

are integrated with a graphics processing unit or a system on a chip; or

form part of the graphics processing unit or the system on the chip.

15. The embedded image processor of claim 8 , wherein modifying the behaviour of the encoder comprises modifying one or more of:

compression ratio;

quantization;

output resolution; and

frame rate.