Automatic camera placement for large scale surveillance networks

Automatic placement of surveillance cameras in arbitrary buildings is a challenging task, and also one that is essential for efficient deployment of large scale surveillance networks. Existing approaches for automatic camera placement are either limited to a small number of cameras, or constrained in terms of the building layouts to which they can be applied. This paper describes a new method for determining the best placement for large numbers of cameras within arbitrary building layouts. The method takes as input a 3D model of the building, and uses a genetic algorithm to find a placement that optimises coverage and (if desired) overlap between cameras. Results are reported for an implementation of the method, including its application to a wide variety of complex buildings, both real and synthetic.