Urban Blight Monitoring System

Background:

Urban blight is defined as "the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude" (Wikipedia). Keeping track of the progress of urban blight requires time and resources to collect and analyze data. Cities need a way to automatically identify visual signs of urban blight and report it to the appropriate departments. This would allow municipal staff to follow up on code enforcement complaints, check status of properties the city is selling, identify current and past property status of properties in the city, and provide fire departments with the most up-to-date visual data of property prior to arrival on the fire scene.

Technology Overview:

This technology, from inventors at the University at Albany, consists of two software systems: (1) analysis dashboard and (2) object training system. The analysis dashboard uses a cascade classifier to identify Visual Signs of Blight (VSB). The object training system is a web-based tool that allows the user to identify new VSB to train the cascade classifier. The analysis dashboard lets you search by street name to view whole streets and drill down to individual properties. A history of images for each street and property can be searched for and viewed. High resolution images can be captured by video cameras mounted on Department of Public Works vehicles. Once captured the images are sent to the analysis dashboard for storage and analysis.

Advantages:

• Saves time and resources: The software can notify departments of identified signs of blight, providing a more complete view of the city without having to physically be at the property to do the initial assessment.
• Up to date images of properties in the city can be used by many city departments.
• Take advantage of city vehicles already conducting city operational business throughout the city to automatically record visual data necessary to feed the system. Personnel no longer need to go out into the field to record these images.

Applications:

The primary application for this technology is monitoring urban blight. It may be possible to adapt the technology to other forms of monitoring, such as the operational status and condition of city assets such as traffic lights, railroad crossing components, the progress of construction projects, and others.

Intellectual Property Summary:

Copyright

Stage of Development:

Beta Prototype in field trial - TRL 7 - System prototype demonstration in operational environment

Licensing Status:

This technology is available for licensing.