Wide area imaging system and method
First Claim
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1. A wide area imaging system for performing surveillance of an area, the system comprising:
- a first sensor having a focal plane array (FPA) and lens producing a first predetermined field of view, the first sensor using a rotational step/dwell/image capture sequence to capture images of the area under surveillance, the captured images being used to produce a first wide-area image of the area under surveillance;
a rotatable subassembly, the first sensor being mounted to the rotatable subassembly for rotation therewith;
a motor configured to rotate the rotatable subassembly about an axis of rotation in a plurality of steps to advance the first predetermined field of view of the first sensor in a direction of the rotation;
a processor configured to synchronize image capture by the first sensor with motion of the first sensor in the direction of the rotation,wherein at least one step of the plurality of steps has a smaller size than at least one other step of the plurality of steps.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a new and useful paradigm in wide area imaging, in which wide area imaging is provided by a step/dwell/image capture process and system to capture images and produce from the captured images a wide area image. The image capture is by a sensor that has a predetermined image field and provides image capture at a predetermined frame capture rate, and by a motorized step and dwell sequence of the sensor, where image capture is during a dwell, and the step and dwell sequence of the sensor is synchronized with the image capture rate of the sensor.
11 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A wide area imaging system for performing surveillance of an area, the system comprising:
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a first sensor having a focal plane array (FPA) and lens producing a first predetermined field of view, the first sensor using a rotational step/dwell/image capture sequence to capture images of the area under surveillance, the captured images being used to produce a first wide-area image of the area under surveillance; a rotatable subassembly, the first sensor being mounted to the rotatable subassembly for rotation therewith; a motor configured to rotate the rotatable subassembly about an axis of rotation in a plurality of steps to advance the first predetermined field of view of the first sensor in a direction of the rotation; a processor configured to synchronize image capture by the first sensor with motion of the first sensor in the direction of the rotation, wherein at least one step of the plurality of steps has a smaller size than at least one other step of the plurality of steps. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A wide area imaging method for performing surveillance of an area, the method comprising:
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rotating about an axis of rotation in a plurality of steps, by a motor, a first sensor having a focal plane array (FPA) and lens producing a first predetermined field of view, to advance the first predetermined field of view of the first sensor in a direction of the rotation, at least one of the plurality of steps having a smaller size than at least one other of the plurality of steps; following each of the plurality of steps, capturing, by the first sensor, a first image of the area under surveillance; synchronizing, by a processor, image capture by the first sensor with motion of the first sensor in the direction of rotation; and producing a first wide area image of the area under surveillance by combining the first images captured by the first sensor. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification