Remote visual monitoring of analogue meter displays using deformable models

Visual monitoring of analogue meters is a critical task especially in isolated locations. Active shape models (ASMs) allow modelling of arbitrary shapes, even when they deform, by a shape adaptive technique. In this study, the authors describe a new ASM scheme for remote reading of panels with multiple analogue displays. Assuming a trained ASM for a given meter shape, the proposed scheme departs from a collection of landmark points detected in the input colour image, and makes meter readings by matching the meter pointer shape (position and orientation). The preliminary experimental results indicate that the authors´ ASM scheme enhances the performance of automatic visual monitoring in contrast to human reading and other ASM approaches.