This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(b) to European Patent Application No. EP 1025111.9 filed on Jun. 21, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
This application relates to monitoring passengers on a vehicle to ensure that they have not evaded paying for a journey or portion of a journey that they are not entitled to.
Transportation systems, particularly public transportation systems such as train, tram, underground, bus or coach systems rely on passengers paying a fare in order to travel. There are many different charging schemes that may be implemented, such as paying to travel a particular distance, a particular number of stops or to a particular location. The result is that in return for paying a particular fare, the passenger is entitled to travel on the vehicle to their desired destination.
Many transportation systems rely on conductors to ensure passengers have paid the correct fare for their journey. The conductor will patrol the vehicle checking to ensure each passenger's ticket is valid for the terms of their travel. The conductor may also have a ticket machine for issuing tickets. Tickets may be physically issued, in the form of card or paper tickets, or they may be provided electronically such as to a mobile phone, personal data assistant (PDA) or any other mobile device. Unfortunately it is difficult for a conductor to keep track of all the passengers, especially when the vehicle stops at a number of different locations along a route at which passengers can exit or enter the vehicle. This can result in passengers evading their fare by not buying a ticket, or travelling a further distance than their ticket entitles them to. Attempts to solve this problem include the use of barriers at train stations to only let through those with correct tickets, but the barriers still need to be supervised and there are still many train stations without ticket barriers.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system for monitoring passengers on a vehicle. The system may include one or more detectors, such as cameras, for detecting passenger data, including one or more passenger identification properties, such as facial features. A computer system may be arranged to receive data from the detectors and to uniquely identify each passenger based on the one or more passenger identification properties; such as by performing a facial recognition function by executing facial recognition software. A device, or subsystem, may be arranged to receive data indicative of whether a passenger has paid the correct fare, for example by scanning a passenger's ticket, and to use the fare data and passenger identification data from the computer system to indicate which passengers have paid the correct fare. Other passenger data detected by the one or more detectors may also be used to indicate which passengers have paid the correct fee.
In certain embodiments, the device may be a mobile device, or portable device, arranged to indicate on a display which passengers have paid the correct fare. In other embodiments the device need not be mobile or portable and may be located on the vehicle or at another location away from the vehicle such as a train station.
The computer system and the device may be separate entities, with the device being arranged to receive the passenger data and passenger identity from the computer system. Alternatively, the device may include the computer system and perform any necessary computation itself.
The passenger data detected by the one or more detectors may include positional information on the location of each passenger within the vehicle, the device being arranged to display the location of each passenger within the vehicle.
The detectors may be positioned in a number of different locations, including facing each entrance/exit of the vehicle, or the entrance/exit of a section of the vehicle or covering a passenger seating area.
The device may include an interface for manually inputting data indicative of whether a passenger has paid the correct fare or it may include a scanning device for scanning storage means on a passenger's ticket containing details of the journey paid for by the passenger. In alternative embodiments, one or more ticket scanners may be used for detecting fare data. The device may be arranged to receive fare data from the ticket scanners, which may automatically scan or receive ticket data from the ticket, and to automatically indicate which passengers have paid the correct fare using indication means such as a display device or audio system. This may be achieved using radio frequency detectors for detecting radio frequency tags on the tickets.
An accompanying method, computer system and computer program are also provided.
Examples of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail, by way of example, and with reference to the drawings in which:
The detectors 101/111 may be still picture or video cameras such as digital cameras, and may be equipped with wide angle lenses. The detectors may be integrated into the train carriages and positioned in predetermined locations such that they can capture visual images of passengers, and particularly the faces of the passengers. For example, one or more cameras may be positioned facing the entrances to the carriage, or on the back of each seat to face a passenger on the seat behind, or along the walls of the carriage. Alternatively, or in addition, the cameras may be placed at ceiling height, either attached to the ceiling or mounted therein. Since passengers may be sitting in a specific seat, or may be standing, the detectors may be distributed in a plurality of different positions to allow images of passenger faces to be captured in any position. The detectors may be connected to the processor by a hardwired connection; a wireless connection may be used, but a local power supply may be needed for each camera.
The cameras may be placed in predetermined locations and may be arranged to track a passenger from the moment of boarding, while seated and upon exiting a carriage or the train itself. To achieve this, the cameras may also be arranged to cover passengers moving in both directions along the length of the train. The precise layout of cameras depends upon the design of the train and particularly of the train carriages, which vary from country to country and even between different regions or train lines. New trains may be designed so that fewer cameras are required, but to retrofit existing rolling stock may require ten or more cameras per carriage. The style of carriage seating may restrict a particular camera's view in some circumstances, so cameras located in the back of seating may also be used so as to face the passenger sitting in the seat behind.
The processor, which may form part of a computer system 112, may run facial recognition software to identify each passenger and differentiate passengers from one another. Although identification of each passenger may include comparison of a detected facial profile with stored facial profile information, and extracting pre-existing personal information, such as name and address details, from a database 103, other arrangements are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. However, each passenger may be uniquely identified, or tagged, in relation to all the other passengers so they may be distinguished. The results of the facial recognition software may be used to assign each passenger a profile or identification tag such that various parameters can be assigned to each passenger such as position information. The data obtained by the processor and the information resulting from calculations carried out by the processor may be stored locally, such as in the database 103.
Each time a passenger enters or exits a carriage, one or more detectors may capture their image. Additional detectors throughout a carriage may be used to provide the positional data of passengers within the carriage, since each camera may also provide location information. The processor may use this information to track the position of each passenger within the train. Positional information may be extracted from the detectors simply based upon the location of the detectors. For example, if a passenger is detected by a camera in a particular location, such as facing seat number 17 in a carriage, then the computer system may extract from this data that the passenger is in that particular location.
The system may operate by monitoring changes in the appearance of a train carriage and scanning areas of change for human faces.
The position of the face, and therefore of the passenger, may be calculated using visual references within the carriage, such as specific markers placed in predetermined positions on the floor, walls or ceiling of the carriages. Alternatively, comparisons between two cameras to extract 3D position information or a 3D camera may be used.
Data analysis may be used to determine the likelihood that a passenger has left a train. This may be determined from the last known position of the passenger, the elapsed time since they were last in that position, and whether they are still in that position. If in the last known position the passenger was moving towards an exit, based on two or more images of the passenger, when the train was at a station, the system may assume the passenger has disembarked the train. The data analysis may be performed by the computer system 112.
Preferably the computer system 112 may be embedded in the pre-existing train computer systems, although it may be possible to use a dedicated computer system. The computer system may also include a wireless receiver and transmitter for communicating with the conductor's mobile device 104.
Alternatively, the computer system may be incorporated into the mobile device 104. In such embodiments the mobile device may be able to receive data directly from the detectors via a wireless transmitter coupled to each detector, or the detectors may be coupled to a routing station having a wireless transmitter for sending data to the mobile device. The database 103 may also be incorporated directly into the mobile device 104.
Using the information from the detectors, the computer system may determine the number of passengers and their locations and thus:
Using additional information provided either via the mobile device 104 or from a database 103, the computer system may also determine:
The mobile device 104 may be carried by the conductor and include a display panel and interface means such as a keypad or touch sensitive screen for navigating through data or inputting data. The device may also function as a ticket machine, or be integrated into an existing ticket machine, such that the conductor only needs to carry around a single device.
The display panel may display a graphical representation of the carriage that the conductor is currently located in. As the conductor moves through the train, the display on the device may show the conductor's current position in the carriage. The conductor's position may be determined either by using the detectors, as described above in relation to the passengers, or by using the wireless connection between the mobile device and the computer system. The device may map the locations of individual passengers within the carriage and display this information using icons on the screen. The position of the conductor may be tracked by using the facial recognition procedure described above in relation to the passengers. Alternatively, an additional system could be used such as GPS tracking or using radio frequency tags (RFID). For accuracy, using both systems may be an option.
Each passenger may assigned an icon which may be used to differentiate different details assigned to that passenger, for example by using different icons or different colours. Passengers that have had their tickets/passes checked by the conductor may be displayed differently to those who have not had their ticket checked. For example, passengers who have not had their ticket checked may be displayed with red icons, and passengers who have had their ticket checked may be displayed with green icons. Passengers that have traveled beyond their ticket/pass geographical limits, or need to get off at the next stop, may also be displayed differently. The display may allow the conductor to identify passengers that have not had their tickets checked, or passengers who have traveled beyond the limits of their ticket.
When a conductor checks or issues a ticket, they may have the option to enter the type of ticket/pass the passenger has. This may be done manually via the touch screen interface. The mobile device may instead comprise scanning means, such as a bar code, magnetic strip or transponder scanner, so that information on the ticket/pass may be provided to the mobile device by scanning a bar code/magnetic strip/transponder located on the ticket/pass. This may enable the system to identify passengers that have stayed on board the train beyond their tickets limits. When a conductor has checked the ticket, they may change the status of the passenger to “ticket checked” by touching the display device, or the system may automatically update the passenger status. At any time the conductor may access passenger ticket information by selecting a passenger's icon.
The computer system may contain a transmitter for transmitting passenger information and data indicative of whether a passenger has paid the correct fare to a central database. Information collected by the mobile device may be uploaded to the database 103 associated with the on-board computer system 112. This information may than be provided to a central office database for further analysis. The on-board computer system may include a transmitter for transmitting the information wirelessly, such as over a mobile phone network, to a central office. Alternatively the information may be provided directly from the mobile device 104 to the central office database via wireless connection or over a mobile phone network.
In alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, the monitoring performed by the conductor may be done at a remote location, either on the train or at some other location such as a train station or central control centre.
The computer system may be located on the train, or at some other location such as a train station or central control station or distributed amongst several locations. The indicator device may be integral with the computer system, and they may be considered to be a single system, or instead may be located at a different location and connected wirelessly to the computer system. For example, the indicator device may be located at a train station, and the computer system may be located on a train. Alternatively both the computer system and the indicator device may be located at a train station, with the detector information being transmitted to them wirelessly. There may be a plurality of indicator devices, each located in a different train station to alert staff members when a passenger who has not paid the correct fare exits the train.
The fare data may be provided to the indicator device/computer system from a ticket scanner 405, remote from the indicator device over a communication link such as a wireless link. Tickets may be manually scanned either by a conductor using a mobile scanner as described above or by the passengers themselves at a ticket scanning station located, for example, at the entrance to a carriage. The scanning station may be arranged such that the passenger must scan their ticket in order to enter a train carriage. Alternatively the tickets may contain an integral transceiver and/or transmitter device arranged to emit a signal which is detected by a detection system comprising one or more detectors distributed throughout the train. The signal may be an RFID signal, which is detected by an RF detection system. The detection system may be used to provide fare data, encoded in the signal, and location data based on the detector location. The data may then be provided to the computer system or directly to the indicator device. A given ticket may be associated with a particular passenger based on location when scanned or other tagging means such as facial recognition at the point of scanning. In this way, the fare data may be collected in a different location to that of the computer system and device, meaning that the conductor may not need to be present for the fare data to be collected. The device may then automatically indicate which passengers have paid the correct fare without requiring the conductor to walk around the train obtaining fare data.
The indicator device may comprise a screen and operate in the manner described above, allowing a conductor to monitor which passengers have paid the correct fare. The indicator device need not be mobile, since the fare data and passenger information may be transmitted to it as described above. The conductor may therefore monitor the device from a particular location and take action when necessary without needing to constantly patrol the train. Alternatively the indicator device may be arranged to automatically indicate whenever a passenger who has not paid the correct fare exits the train using the received data. This may be done using a display or an audio signal generated by a loudspeaker. Such an embodiment means that a conductor may not be required on the train because the indicator device may alert staff at a train station of the fare evader and they can then take the appropriate action.
The above embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in relation to a train or train carriage. It will be appreciated that embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to any type of vehicle in which it is desired to monitor whether passengers have paid the correct fare for travel. This may include vehicles such as coaches, buses, tubes/subways, trams, aircraft or boats or any vehicle that uses stations or stops at which passengers can exit or enter.
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