Theft of an item from a department of a venue having a department-specific, point-of-sale (POS) station for completing a transaction of the item prior to authorized removal of the item from the department, is deterred by sensing and tracking movement of a target associated with the item from the department by deploying a plurality of sensing units overhead at the venue, and by generating an alert when the sensing units sense and track that the target associated with the item has bypassed the department-specific POS station without the transaction having been completed for the item at the department-specific POS station. Security personnel execute a theft-deterrent action in response to the alert.

The various embodiments described herein include methods, devices, and systems for providing event alerts. In one aspect, a method includes: (1) obtaining a video feed, the video feed comprising a plurality of images; and, (2) for each image, analyzing the image to determine whether the image includes a person, the analyzing including: (a) determining that the image includes a potential instance of a person by analyzing the image at a first resolution; (b) in accordance with the determination that the image includes the potential instance, denoting a region around the potential instance; (c) determining whether the region includes an instance of the person by analyzing the region at a second resolution, greater than the first resolution; and (d) in accordance with a determination that the region includes the instance of the person, determining that the image includes the person.

A method of detecting and responding to a visitor to a smart home environment via an electronic greeting system of the smart home environment, including determining that a visitor is approaching an entryway of the smart home environment; initiating a facial recognition operation while the visitor is approaching the entryway; initiating an observation window in response to the determination that a visitor is approaching the entryway; obtaining context information from one or more sensors of the smart home environment during the observation window; and at the end of the time window, initiating a response to the detected approach of the visitor based on the context information and/or an outcome of the facial recognition operation.

The various embodiments described herein include methods, devices, and systems for providing event alerts. In one aspect, a method includes: (1) receiving a plurality of video frames from a camera, the plurality of video frames including a motion event candidate; (2) categorizing the motion event candidate by processing the plurality of video frames, the categorizing including: (a) associating the motion event candidate with a first category of a plurality of motion event categories; and (b) generating a confidence level for the association of the motion event candidate with the first category; and (3) sending an alert indicative of the first category and the confidence level to a user associated with the camera.

The various embodiments described herein include methods, devices, and systems for providing event alerts. In one aspect, a method includes: (1) obtaining a first category for a first motion event, the first motion event corresponding to a first plurality of video frames; (2) sending a first alert indicative of the first category to a user; (3) after sending the first alert, obtaining a second category for a second motion event corresponding to a second plurality of video frames; (4) in accordance with a determination that the second category is the same as the first category, determining whether a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the sending of the first alert; (5) if the predetermined amount of time has elapsed, sending a second alert indicative of the second category to the user; and (6) if the predetermined amount of time has not elapsed, forgoing sending the second alert.

The present invention provides a network camera having a plurality of digital output terminals for outputting an alarm, and a method of controlling the network camera. That is, the present invention includes a plurality of digital output terminals for transmitting image information obtained through a wireless communication network to a server and transmitting information about sensing a person and information about a problematic situation, respectively, using a 4-wire cable, so it is possible to check whether it is a normally-closed state or a normally-open state through the plurality of digital output terminals that are individually managed, respectively, and accordingly, it is possible to improve convenience in use.

A system and method for a remote state following device that includes an electronic device with a controllable operating state; an imaging device; and control system that when targeted at a control interface interprets a visual state from the control interface, and modifies the operating state in coordination with the visual state.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a storage device, for using a drone to pre-surveil a portion of a property. In one aspect, a system may include a monitoring unit. The monitoring unit may include a network interface, a processor, and a storage device that includes instructions to cause the processor to perform operations. The operations may include obtaining data that is indicative of one or more acts of an occupant of the property, applying the obtained data that is indicative of one or more acts of the occupant of the property to a pre-surveillance rule, determining that the pre-surveillance rule is satisfied, determining a drone navigation path that is associated with the pre-surveillance rule, transmitting, to a drone, an instruction to perform pre-surveillance of the portion of the one or more properties using the drone navigation path.

An apparatus, method and system for detecting an object in an environment. The apparatus comprises: a processor, the processor coupled to an active reflected wave detector that is operable to measure wave reflections from the environment. The processor is configured to: process measured wave reflection data to determine whether a predetermined condition is met, the measured wave reflection data accrued by the processor in response to the active reflected wave detector being activated in response to a motion sensor detecting motion in said environment; and if the predetermined condition is met, perform at least one operation related to camera image data.

An apparatus, method and system for detecting an object in an environment. The apparatus comprises: a processor, the processor coupled to an active reflected wave detector that is operable to measure wave reflections from the environment. The processor is configured to: process measured wave reflection data to determine whether a predetermined condition is met, the measured wave reflection data accrued by the processor in response to the active reflected wave detector being activated in response to a motion sensor detecting motion in said environment; and if the predetermined condition is met, perform at least one operation related to camera image data.