Multi-camera Control through Constraint Satisfaction for Persistent Surveillance

We introduce a distributed camera coalition formation scheme for perceptive scene coverage and persistent surveillance by smart camera sensor networks. The proposed model supports task-dependent camera selection and grouping via a "contract net" task allocation protocol augmented with conflict resolution and error recovery mechanisms. Our technique avoids any central controller, and it is robust to node failures and imperfect communication. In the design and empirical evaluation of our camera networks, we exploit a visually and behaviorally realistic virtual environment simulator that is populated by autonomous, lifelike virtual pedestrians.