Active surveillance using depth sensing technology — Part II: Extending tracking range via cascaded depth sensors

In part II of a three-part series on active surveillance using depth-sensing technology, this paper proposes a method which autonomously transfers tracking of a premise intruder from one adjacent Kinect sensor to the other. The proposed method addresses the inherent limited depth range of a Kinect sensor in tracking an intruder further away. This is achieved by continuously monitoring the rotation angle of a Kinect sensor that is mounted on an independent pan-tilt unit (PTU). As the rotation angle approaches a crossover region, the current PTU signals the adjacent PTU to rotate towards this region, at which the adjacent unit then identifies and continues to track the intruder. Experiment results validate the feasibility of the proposed method in tracking an intruder at longer distances through cascaded Kinect sensors.