Motion-based machine vision techniques for the management of large crowds

The early detection and the prevention of crowd-related emergencies are the main aims of large crowd management Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) systems. However, environmental and psychological factors play a role in degrading the performance of CCTV operators, hence causing a threat to crowd safety. We present computer vision techniques that estimate the paths and directions of crowd flows in CCTV images and improve the perception of scene dynamics by offering online illustrations. Moreover, we present motion-based algorithms to detect crowd-related emergencies and assist CCTV operators in ensuring crowd safety.