Fast-moving object counting with an event camera
This addresses the problem of accurately counting small, fast-moving objects in industrial settings, but it is incremental as it applies an existing event camera method to a specific domain.
The paper tackled counting fast-moving objects, specifically falling corn grains, using an event camera, achieving real-time processing and validation through tests that confirmed its correctness for industrial applications.
This paper proposes the use of an event camera as a component of a vision system that enables counting of fast-moving objects - in this case, falling corn grains. These type of cameras transmit information about the change in brightness of individual pixels and are characterised by low latency, no motion blur, correct operation in different lighting conditions, as well as very low power consumption. The proposed counting algorithm processes events in real time. The operation of the solution was demonstrated on a stand consisting of a chute with a vibrating feeder, which allowed the number of grains falling to be adjusted. The objective of the control system with a PID controller was to maintain a constant average number of falling objects. The proposed solution was subjected to a series of tests to determine the correctness of the developed method operation. On their basis, the validity of using an event camera to count small, fast-moving objects and the associated wide range of potential industrial applications can be confirmed.