Passive approaching object recognition for enhancing security systems

1. A method comprising:

detecting, by a computing device, an object in an area monitored using a camera;

determining, by the computing device and based on information from the camera, that the object is an unknown object;

sending, by the computing device and in response to determining that the object is the unknown object, an unmanned aerial vehicle to monitor the object;

receiving, by the computing device, observations from the unmanned aerial vehicle, the observations being of the object;

identifying, by the computing device and using the observations, the object;

determining, by the computing device, that the object is on a permitted object list; and

instructing, by the computing device and based on the object being on the permitted object list, the unmanned aerial vehicle to discontinue monitoring the object,

wherein the camera is located at a location other than on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining that the object is the unknown object comprises comparing images of the object obtained from the camera to object fingerprints stored in an object database.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the determining that the object is the unknown object further comprises comparing behaviors of the object to the object fingerprints stored in the object database.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the observations received from the unmanned aerial vehicle comprise additional images and information about behaviors of the object.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the identifying the object comprises the computer device comparing the additional images and the information about behaviors of the object received from the unmanned aerial vehicle to object fingerprints stored in an object database.

6. The method according to claim 4 , further comprising:

generating, by the computing device, an object fingerprint for the object using the observations; and

storing, by the computing device, the object fingerprint for the object in the object database.

7. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to:

detect an object in an area monitored using a camera;

determine, based on information from the camera, that the object is an unknown object;

in response to determining that the object is the unknown object, send an unmanned aerial vehicle to monitor the object;

receive observations from the unmanned aerial vehicle, the observations being of the object;

identify the object using the observations; and

instruct, based on the object being identified, the unmanned aerial vehicle to discontinue monitoring the object,

wherein the camera is located at a location other than on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

8. The computer program product according to claim 7 , wherein the determining that the object is the unknown object comprises comparing images of the object obtained from the camera to object fingerprints stored in an object database.

9. The computer program product according to claim 8 , wherein the determining that the object is the unknown object further comprises comparing behaviors of the object to the object fingerprints stored in the object database.

10. The computer program product according to claim 7 , wherein the observations received from the unmanned aerial vehicle comprise additional images and information about behaviors of the object.

11. The computer program product according to claim 10 , wherein the identifying the object comprises comparing the additional images and the information about behaviors of the object received from the unmanned aerial vehicle to object fingerprints stored in an object database.

12. The computer program product according to claim 11 , the program instructions further being executable by the computing device to cause the computing device to:

generate an object fingerprint for the object using the observations; and

store the object fingerprint for the object in the object database.

13. A system comprising:

a hardware processor, a computer readable memory, and a computer readable storage medium associated with a computing device;

program instructions configured to detect an object in an area monitored using a camera;

program instructions configured to determine, based on information from the camera, that the object is an unknown object;

program instructions configured to, in response to determining that the object is the unknown object, send an unmanned aerial vehicle to monitor the object;

program instructions configured to receive observations from the unmanned aerial vehicle, the observations being of the object;

program instructions configured to identify the object using the observations;

program instructions configured to determine that the object is on a permitted object list; and

program instructions configured to instruct, based on the object being on the permitted object list, the unmanned aerial vehicle to discontinue monitoring the object,

wherein the camera is located at a location other than on the unmanned aerial vehicle, and

wherein the program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium for execution by the hardware processor via the computer readable memory.

14. The system according to claim 13 , wherein the program instructions configured to determine that the object is the unknown object comprise program instructions configured to compare images of the object obtained from the camera to object fingerprints received from a plurality of users and stored in an object database on a centralized server accessible to each of the plurality of users.

15. The system according to claim 14 , wherein the program instructions configured to determine that the object is the unknown object further comprise program instructions configured to compare behaviors of the object to the object fingerprints stored in the object database.

16. The system according to claim 13 , wherein the observations received from the unmanned aerial vehicle comprise additional images and information about behaviors of the object.

17. The system according to claim 16 , wherein the identifying the object comprises comparing the additional images and the information about behaviors of the object received from the unmanned aerial vehicle to object fingerprints stored in an object database.

18. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the object is a person, and

the observations comprise information about electronic signals of devices being carried by the person.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the observations further comprise images or the person, a movement direction of the person, a movement speed of the person, and a walking pattern of the person.

20. The computer program product according to claim 7 , the program instructions further being executable by the computing device to cause the computing device to:

add the object to a permitted object list;

store information about the object in an object database;

subsequently detect the object in the area monitored using the camera, the subsequent detecting being after the detecting;

compare information gathered by the camera during the subsequent detecting to the information about the object stored in the object database;

determine, based on the comparing, that the object is on the permitted object list; and

prevent deployment of a second unmanned aerial vehicle to monitor the object after the subsequent detecting, the preventing being based on the object being on the permitted object list.