Report on NSF/ARO/ONR Workshop on Distributed Camera Networks: Research Challenges and Future Directions

Abstract

Large-scale video networks are becoming increasingly important for a wide range of critical applications. The development of automated techniques for aggregating and interpreting information from multiple video streams in large-scale networks in real-life scenarios is very challenging. Research in video sensor networks is highly interdisciplinary and requires expertise from a variety of fields. The goal of this effort was to organize a two-day nationally recognized workshop in the domain of camera networks that brings together leading researchers from academia, industry and the government. The workshop was held at the University of California at Riverside on May 11–12, 2009. The workshop was attended by 75 participants. The workshop was sponsored by the US National Science Foundation, US Army Research Office and US Office of Naval Research. The workshop addressed critical interdisciplinary challenges at the intersection of large-scale video camera networks and distributed sensing, processing, communication and control; distributed video understanding; embedded real-time systems; graphics and simulation; and education. The recommendations of the workshop are summarized in the following order of topics: A. Video Processing and Video Understanding B. Simulation, Graphics, Cognition and Video Networks C. Wireless Video Sensor Networks, Communications and Control D. Distributed Embedded Cameras and Real Time Video Analysis E. Applications F. Educational Opportunities and Curriculum Development We include the workshop report in this book with the hope that it will catalyze a research agenda and interdisciplinary collaborations in large-scale camera networks—an emerging field with significant and exciting scientific and technological challenges, which will set the stage for potentially transformative breakthroughs.