US 12,444,200 B2
Scanners to characterize and distinguish anomalies based on multiple mode scans and scan time thresholds
John Fortune, Clifton, VA (US); Brian Lewis, Washington, DC (US); and Michelle Weinberger, Fairfax City, VA (US)
Assigned to The Government of the United States of America, represented by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Washington, DC (US)
Filed by The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Washington, DC (US)
Filed on Dec. 12, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/979,033.
Application 18/979,033 is a continuation of application No. 17/353,320, filed on Jun. 21, 2021, granted, now 12,183,081.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/144,334, filed on Feb. 1, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2025/0111676 A1, Apr. 3, 2025
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G06V 20/52 (2022.01); G01N 23/10 (2018.01); G06F 18/22 (2023.01); G06F 18/25 (2023.01); G06T 7/30 (2017.01); G06T 7/70 (2017.01); G06V 10/25 (2022.01)
CPC G06V 20/52 (2022.01) [G01N 23/10 (2013.01); G06F 18/22 (2023.01); G06F 18/251 (2023.01); G06T 7/30 (2017.01); G06T 7/70 (2017.01); G06V 10/25 (2022.01); G06T 2207/10116 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30232 (2013.01)] 28 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method to characterize an anomaly, comprising:
obtaining information about an item using a first mode scan;
detecting whether the item contains an anomaly based on the information;
determining, responsive to detecting the anomaly, an area of interest of the item corresponding to a location of the anomaly;
determining, based on the information, a strategy including a procedure to obtain other information of the area of interest;
performing the procedure to refine a characterization of the anomaly based on the other information;
comparing the characterization of the anomaly to a predetermined criterion;
when the characterization of the anomaly does not meet the predetermined criterion and an additional procedure to refine the characterization of the anomaly is available, iteratively revising the strategy to perform the additional procedure and further refine the characterization of the anomaly;
when the characterization of the anomaly does not meet the predetermined criterion and no additional procedures to refine the characterization of the anomaly are available, flagging the item to indicate another method is needed to characterize the anomaly;
when the characterization of the anomaly meets the predetermined criterion corresponding to a prohibited item, identifying the anomaly as prohibited;
detecting a plurality of anomalies based on the first mode scan of the item;
determining a plurality of areas of interest corresponding to the plurality of anomalies;
determining, according to the strategy, a second mode scan time estimate corresponding to obtaining a plurality of second mode scans of the plurality of areas of interest;
determining, according to the strategy, whether the second mode scan time estimate exceeds a scan time threshold; and
when the second mode scan time estimate exceeds the scan time threshold, terminating, according to the strategy, second mode scans of the item and flagging the item for manual screening.