Smart Cameras: Fundamentals and Classification

Abstract

Since the late 1990s smart cameras have gained significant popularity and market acceptance, especially in surveillance and machine vision industries. A smart camera is a vision system that can perform tasks far beyond simply taking photos and recording videos. Thanks to the purposely developed intelligent image processing and pattern recognition algorithms running on increasingly powerful micro-processors, smart cameras can detect motion, measure objects, read vehicle number plates, and even recognize human behavior. They are essential components for building active and automated control systems for many applications and hold great promise for being pervasive and intelligent sensors in the future. In this chapter we provide a technical definition of smart cameras and analyze the reasons behind their increasing popularity. We also discuss the characteristics and advantages of smart cameras. Later in the chapter a tentative classification of smart cameras is provided based on their system architectures.