Electron College of Technical Education

TRIGONOMETRY
CASE STUDY

Submitted by:
INFORMATION SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY- 4
GROUP 2
Delgado, Jona Mae I.
Desuyo, Jomar G.
Medino, Nelson V.
Peola, Jaya S.
Taruc, Carlo G.

Submitted to:
SIR. ARJADE T. BACAY

Electron College

of Technical
Education

TRIGONOMETRIC LENS:
A Solution Of
Surveillance Camera

ETON CENTRIS WALK

(WIPRO Call Center Building - 01/16/16)
KRIS ALLEN SANCHEZ
I.T. SPECIALIST

Electron College of Technical Education

ABSTRACT

What is the right lens and resolution for an IP camera?

When you put together your IP camera system, you want to make sure that
the camera you select for each location meets your expectations. It is
imporatant to first know the objectives for each area you are viewing. Do
you want to identify a persons face, a license plate, or just detect a person
walking far away?
In general, the more you detail you want, the higher the
resolution you need. This case study shows you how to determine the
viewing area and distance you want to expect.

Electron College of Technical Education

KEY WORD

IP Camera is a surveillance camera with a built in mini web server. These

wireless IP Cameras are the new generation of the traditional Closed Circuit
Television (CCTV) analog cameras. It outperforms the traditional CCTV with
its built in features: Automatic motion detection email alerts, the ability to
monitor your place anywhere, anytime through any web browser, tablet,
and mobile phones. It also has the capability of remote pan and tilt, 2 way
audio features

Pixels - short for Picture Element, a pixel is a single point in a graphic

image.

Graphics

monitors

display

pictures

by

dividing

the display

screen into thousands (or millions) of pixels, arranged in rows andcolumns.

The pixels are so close together that they appear connected.

Camera

Lens

(also

known

as photographic

lens or photographic

objective) is an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with

a camera body

and

mechanism

to

make

images

of

objects

either

on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image

chemically or electronically.
Panoramic Lens

- In aerial photography, a camera which, through a system of moving optic

s or mirrors, scans a wide area of the terrain,usually from horizon to horiz
on. The camera may be mounted vertically or obliquely within the aircraf
t, to scan across oralong the line of flight.

Pythagoras Theorem - In a right angled triangle the square of the long

side is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. It is stated in
this formula: a2 + b2 = c2.

Right angled triangle - is one of the most useful shapes in all of

mathematics! (It is used in the Pythagoras Theorem and Sine, Cosine and
Tangent for example).

Segment of a circle - is the region bounded by a chord and the arc

subtended by the chord.

Radius - of a circle or sphere is a the length of a line segment from its

center to its perimeter

Circumference of a circle - is the distance around it. The term is used

when measuring physical objects, as well as when considering abstract
geometric forms. When a circle's diameter is 1, its circumference is . When
a circle's radius is 1called a unit circleits circumference is 2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

Electron College of Technical Education

INTRODUCTION

Our group was trying to calculate the viewing angle required of

an IP camera, to view a set area at a set distance. More specifically to be
able to view said area in sufficient detail to make out personal features.
In doing researched, we have come across a question statement
what is the right lens and resolution for an IP camera? According to the
operator at ETON, he said that it is imporatant to know the objects for each
area by making a complete function. How we can do this? How do we identify
a pesons face, a license plate, or just detect a person walking away?

In this case, we take note that the view you get through a lens is
roughly a triangle with the angle vertex at the lens, and the base of the
triangle, at the area you want to view. We assume that we are looking down
at the top of the camera and we are viewing the horizontal width of the
picture. The vertical angle of the lens is also important if we are trying to
view a building or tree.
To make a methodology with this problem, we made a hand to
hand calculation using trigonometry.

Electron College of

Technical
Education

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

IP Cameras are expected to be placed at an average height of 15

to 50 feet above ground pointing downwards at roughly 30 degrees. These
cameras are deployed in open spaced monitoring different types of
movement. During installation, operators often make mistakes when
entering camera height and angle information into the system.
The objective is to get a sense of the ground plane and to be able to
calculate how close or far objects are relative to their size.
The variables are:

Height of the camera.

Angle of the camera to the ground.

Distance of image.

Size of the image.

A. CASE PRESENTATION
First understand that the number of pixels per ft. or per m dtermines
the detail we can see. The higher the resolution of the IP camera, the wider
the area we can see at a specific pixels/ft. When there are enough pixels
covering a person face, we can recognize the person. The lens controls how
wider our field of view will be. The wider our field of view the less pixels per
ft. or meter we will get. The more elements per distance (pixels/m or
pixels/ft.) the more details we can see.

Fg.1

field of view

Camera

Distance to the field of view

As we adjust our lens to provide a wider view, the number of
pixel/ft. (m) decreases and the lens detail we can see. (According to the
camera that used at ETON, heres our measurement figure.)

Fg. 2
1 ft. (0.3) 15 pixels/ft.

2m (0.6m) 7.5 pixels/ft.

In order to make it accurate light is needed. We determined that

if there is good light you will require about 50 horizontal pixels/ft. (162
pixels/m) to identify someone you know. But if you need to identify a person
you dont need a lot more resolution. It requires about 150 pixels/ft. (492
pixels/m). We consider this higher pixel count to be more a foresinc
identification than person identification.

B. Lens Angle
Using lens with a 28 degree angle; at a distance of 40 ft. the field of
view is about 20 ft. At 80 ft. away the field of view is 40 wide.

Fg. 3
camera

80 ft.

40 ft.

20 ft.

40ft.

As you can see the triangle

widens as you get further from the
lens. If you get too far away you
cant see too much detail. You can
change the area you want by
changing the angle or type of lens
used.

According to Sir. Kris, lenses are usually defined by the millimeter (mm)
rather than an angle, but sometimes it is helpful to know the angle of the
lens as well. The larger the mm number the smaller the angle of view and
the angle of view and the more magnification or zoom we get.

C. Calculating the field of view:

How wide a field of view we can see and still be able to identify a
persons face?
To calculate the widest field of view, divide the number of horizontal
pixels by the pixels/ft.
Formula: THR = FV (total horizontal resolution/pixels/ft. = field of view)
P/ft.
Camera resolution: 1920 (x 1080 = 2- megapixel)
Assuming Pixels/ft.: 50
Caculation:

THR = FV
P/ft.
1920 = 38.4 Ft
50

Convertion Method: 1 foot = 0.3048 meters

38.4 ft. x 0.3048m =11.70432m or 11.7m
1ft
Conclusion: The resolution of the camera sensor is typically 1920 (H) x 1080
(V) pixels. Lets assume that we want to identifythe things we know, so we
need 50 pixels per feet.
The 2- mega pixel camera provides a maxiimum width of
38.4ft (11.7m). We cut the triangle in half; the opposite side (O) is equal to
19.2ft (5.85m). If the camera lens angle is 30- degrees, cut that in half Angle

X equals 15-degrees. Using scientific calculator, we find that the hypotenuse

side (H) is 74.2ft (22.6m) away from the camera lens.

D. Using the Segment of a Circle

Calculating the distance using a segment of a circle requires a
different formula.
C= circumference
S= segment of the circumference
A= angle of the lens
R= distance or radius of the circle
To calculate the radius using the segment method, we use the formula
C= 2 r.
Since a 30-degree segment of the circle is 1 of 360-degrees we need
to calculate the circumference using the following formula:
C= S x 360/A
In this case C= 38.4ft x 360/30 = 38.4 x 12 = 460.8ft (140.45m)
Now we have the circumference, we can calculate the radius:
R= C/(2 )
R= (38.4 x 12) / (2 x 3.14)
= 73.3 ft (22.34m)

As you can see, both methods provide similar answer, but as the angle
increases the segment method is more accurate. The difference between the

arc and the chord of the circle become greater as the angle increases. When
the angle approaches 180-degrees the triangle method doesnt work.

E. Reverse calculation
We have given a 5-megapixel camera with a resolution of 2592
x 1944, and then the widest horizontal field of view is 51.84ft. (15.8m). Also,
a 10-megapixel camera, with 3648 x 2752 pixel resolution, provides a 72.96
ft. (22.24m) field of view.
We can also calculate in reverse. We can start with the field of
view and then calculate the resolution of the camera.
Formula

to

calculate

the

resolution

of

the

IP

camera:

(Field of View) x (pixels/ft.) = Horizontal Resolution

(FV) x (P/ft.) = HR
Given: FV = 25ft.
P/ft. = 50
25ft x 50P/ft. = 1250ft
We can now select a camera that has at least 1250 horizontal pixels.
ETON used Sony SNC-EM630 IP camera which has a resolution of 1280
x 1024 pixels. This is a very nice 1.3 mega-pixel camera wuth enough
resolution to meet the requirements. According to the specialist, this is one
of the newer IP camera models that provide excellent low light sensitivity
and wide dynamic range (WDR).

Electron College of
Education

Technical

PART OF THE STUDY THAT USED TRIGONOMETRY

Measuring the Distance from a Camera on a Pole

Now, what happens if the camera is on pole or top of a roof and
you want to get the distance from the camera to the area you want to view?
This time we need to calculate the hypotenuse of a triangle. We
know the height of the pole (where the camera is mounted) and the distance
from the base of the pole, and we need to calculate the distance from the
camera to the area we want to view. We have a triangle with heigth of a ,
and the distance of b and we need to calculate the distance from the
camera to the area of c.
Remember the Phythagorean Theorem, brought to us by old
Greek mathemetician Pythagoras? Well, thats what we need to use here

Fg. 4

c
a

a2 +b 2=c 2

Suppose the pole is 35 feet high, and the distance from the base of
the pole to the man is 65 feet. The calculation goes like this:

C= A + B
= 35 + 65
= 1225 + 4225
= 5450
= 73.82 ft

Now, on the given footage of the specialist:

From the top of the WIPRO, a jogger is spotted heading toward

the building. At 2 pm, the angle of depression of the jogger (A) was
measured to be 37. Four minutes later, (B), when measured again, the angle
of depression had increased by 35. Find the average speed of the jogger to
the nearest foot per minute.
Solution: using trigonometric function =

Tangent (angle) = Opposite / Adjacent.

Fg. 5

1. Get the value of AC

tan 37 = 986
AC
AC = 986
tan 37
AC = 1308.4662
2. Get the sum of degrees
37 + 35 = 72
3. Look for the value of BC
tan 72 = 986
BC
BC = 986
tan 72
BC = 320.3708
4. Get the difference of AC and BC
X = AC BC
= 1308.4662 320.3708
= 988.0954
5.

Divide the total of X by 4

X = 988.0954
4
= 247.0238 or 247 ft/m

Electron College of
Education

Technical

GENERALIZATION

So you thought you woudnt need that trigs class. Well, sorry for
you. In trying to select the lens of the camera, or determining the distance
between a poles mounted camera from the viewing area, you are going to
need some trigonometry.
First determine what you want to see and then you can calculate
the IP camera resolution need; and the lens you use. Once you know how
much resolution you need, you can calculate the size of the field of view and
distance from the camera, based on the lens you select. To get a rough idea
of how far away can see a certain amount detail, you can use the right
triangle formula using angled calculator. Also, you can use the Pythagorean
Theorem to get the long square side of a triangle. But when the angles get
very large, it is better to use the circle calculation.