System of determining a position of a remote object via one or more images

• US 10,378,904 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2017
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ian Michael Fink
• Original Assignee: Ian Michael Fink
• Inventors: Fink, Ian Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Sweeney, Brian P
• Application Number:
  US15/482,784
• Publication Number:
  US 20170314931A1
• Time in Patent Office: 856 Days
• Field of Search: 701410
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/04 by terrestrial means G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/00 Measuring distances in line of sight; Optical rangefinders tapes, chains or wheels for measuring length G01B3/00; active triangulation systems, i.e. using the transmission and reflection of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, G01S17/48
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/10 Complex mathematical operations function generation by table look-up G06F1/03; evaluation of elementary functions by calculation G06F7/544

Abstract

In one or more embodiments, one or more systems, methods and/or processes may determine a location of a remote object (e.g., a point and/or area of interest, landmark, structure that “looks interesting”, buoy, anchored boat, etc.). For example, the location of a remote object may be determined via a first bearing, at a first location, and a second bearing, at a second location, to the remote object. For instance, the first and second locations can be determined via a position device, such as a global positioning system device. In one or more embodiments, the location of the remote object may be based on the first location, the second location, the first bearing, and the second bearing. For example, the location of the remote object may be provided to a user via a map. For instance, turn-by-turn direction to the location of the remote object may be provided to the user.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

means for receiving multiple location signals via at least one antenna;

means for computing a first position and a second position, different from the first position, based on the multiple location signals and a first location of the at least one antenna and a second location, different from the first location, of the at least one antenna;

means for acquiring a first image that includes a first remote object image of a remote object and that corresponds to the first position;

means for acquiring a second image that includes a second remote object image of the remote object and that corresponds to the second position;

means for determining a first image position of the first remote object image of the remote object included by the first image;

means for determining a first bearing to the remote object at a remote object position, different from the first position and different from the second position, based on the first image position;

means for determining a second image position of the second remote object image of the remote object included by the second image;

means for determining a second bearing to the remote object at the remote object position based on the second image position;

means for computing a first rotation, by the first bearing, of a first vector associated with the first position;

means for computing a second rotation, by the second bearing, of a second vector associated with the second position; and

means for computing the remote object position based on the first rotation, by the first bearing, of the first vector and the second rotation, by the second bearing, of the second vector.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means for providing information based on the remote object position.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means for receiving first user input that indicates the first image position of the first remote object image of the remote object included by the first image; and

means for receiving second user input that indicates the second image position of the second remote object image of the remote object included by the second image.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

means for providing the first image and the second image.

5. The system of claim 3,

wherein the first image position of the first remote object image of the remote object included by the first image is based on a first number of pixels;

wherein the second image position of the second remote object image of the remote object included by the second image is based on a second number of pixels;

wherein the means for determining the first bearing to the remote object at the remote object position, different from the first position and different from the second position, based on the first image position include means for utilizing the first number of pixels; and

wherein the means for determining the second bearing to the remote object at the remote object position based on the second image position include means for utilizing the second number of pixels.

6. The system of claim 5,

wherein the means for determining the first bearing to the remote object at the remote object position, different from the first position and different from the second position, based on the first image position further include means for utilizing at least one of a first function of number of pixels to angles and a first mapping of number of pixels to angles;

and

wherein the means for determining the second bearing to the remote object at the remote object position based on the second image position further include means for utilizing at least one of a second function of number of pixels to angles and a second mapping of number of pixels to angles.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the second number of pixels equals the first number of pixels.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one of the second function of number of pixels to angles and the second mapping of number of pixels to angles is the at least one of the first function of number of pixels to angles and the first mapping of number of pixels to angles.

9. The system of claim 1,

wherein the means for computing the remote object position based on the first rotation, by the first bearing, of the first vector and the second rotation, by the second bearing, of the second vector include means for computing an intersection of a first plane and a second plane, different from the first plane;

wherein the first plane includes the first position and the remote object position;

wherein the second plane includes the second position and the remote object position; and

wherein the intersection of the first plane and the second plane indicates the remote object position.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the means for computing the intersection of the first plane and the second plane include means for computing a cross product of a third vector associated with the first plane and a fourth vector, different from the third vector, associated with the second plane.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means for computing, utilizing the first position, a first plane, wherein the first plane is normal to the first vector and the first plane initially include the first position, a geographic pole, and an origin; and

means for computing, utilizing the second position, a second plane, wherein the second plane is normal to the second vector and the second plane initially includes the second position, the geographic pole, and the origin;

wherein the means for computing the first rotation, by the first bearing, of the first vector associated with the first position include means for computing a rotation of the first plane about the first position by the first bearing such that the first plane no longer includes the geographic pole and includes the first position, the origin, and the remote object position;

wherein the means for computing the second rotation, by the second bearing, of the second vector associated with the second position include means for computing a rotation of the second plane about the second position by the second bearing such that the second plane no longer includes the geographic pole and includes the second position, the origin, and the remote object position; and

wherein the means for computing the remote object position based on the first rotation, by the first bearing, of the first vector and the second rotation, by the second bearing, of the second vector include mean for computing an intersection of the first plane and the second plane.

12. The system of claim 1,

wherein the means for computing the first rotation, by the first bearing, of the first vector associated with the first position include means for utilizing a first rotation matrix based on the first position and the first bearing;

and

wherein the means for computing the second rotation, by the second bearing, of the second vector associated with the second position include means for utilizing a second rotation matrix based on the second position and the second bearing.

13. The system of claim 1,

wherein the means for computing the first rotation, by the first bearing, of the first vector associated with the first position include:

means for computing a first quaternion, utilizing the first position and the first bearing;

means for computing a second quaternion, utilizing the first vector;

means for computing an inverse of the first quaternion as a third quaternion; and

means for computing a first quaternion multiplication of the first quaternion, the second quaternion, and the third quaternion; and

wherein the means for computing the second rotation, by the second bearing, of the second vector associated with the second position include;

means for computing a fourth quaternion, utilizing the second position and the second bearing;

means for computing a fifth quaternion, utilizing the second vector;

means for computing an inverse of the fourth quaternion as a sixth quaternion; and

means for computing a second quaternion multiplication of the fourth quaternion, the fifth quaternion, and the sixth quaternion.

14. The system of claim 1,

wherein the first rotation, by the first bearing, of the first vector is associated with a third vector;

wherein the second rotation, by the second bearing, of the second vector is associated with a fourth vector;

wherein the means for computing the remote object position based on the first rotation, by the first bearing, of the first vector and the second rotation, by the second bearing, of the second vector include means for computing a cross product of the third vector and the fourth vector; and

wherein the cross product indicates the remote object position.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

means for computing, utilizing the first position, the first vector normal to the first position, an origin, and a geographic pole; and

means for computing, utilizing the second position, the second vector normal to the second position, the origin, and the geographic pole;

wherein the means for computing the first rotation, by the first bearing, of the first vector associated with the first position include means for computing a first transform of the first vector into the third vector via computing the first rotation of the first vector about the first position by the first hearing; and

wherein the means for computing the second rotation, by the second bearing, of the second vector associated with the second position include means for computing a second transform of the second vector into the fourth vector via computing the second rotation of the second vector about the second position by the second bearing.

16. The system of claim 1,

wherein the means for receiving multiple location signals via the at least one antenna include means for receiving a first portion of the multiple location signals via the at least one antenna at the first location and means for receiving a second portion of the multiple location signals via the at least one antenna at the second location;

and

wherein the means for computing the first position and the second position, different from the first position, based on the multiple location signals and the first location of the at least one antenna and the second location, different from the first location, of the at least one antenna include;

means for computing the first location of the at least one antenna via the first portion of the multiple location signals; and

means for computing the second location of the at least one antenna via the second portion of the multiple location signals.

17. The system of claim 16,

wherein the means for receiving the first portion of the multiple location signals via the at least one antenna at the first location include means for receiving the first portion of the multiple location signals via the at least one antenna at the first location while the at least one antenna is moving at a first speed;

and

wherein the means for receiving the second portion of the multiple location signals via the at least one antenna at the second location include means for receiving the second portion of the multiple location signals via the at least one antenna at the second location while the at least one antenna is moving at a second speed.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the second speed is the first speed.

19. The system of claim 1,

wherein the means for determining the first bearing to the remote object at the remote object position, different from the first position and different from the second position, based on the first image position include at least one of means for adding a declination angle and means for subtracting the declination angle;

and

wherein the means for determining the second bearing to the remote object at the remote object position based on the second image position include at least one of means for adding the declination angle and means for subtracting the declination angle.

20. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means for computing a first heading and a second heading;

wherein the means for determining the first bearing to the remote object at a remote object position, different from the first position and different from the second position, based on the first image position is further based on the first heading; and

wherein the means for determining the second bearing to the remote object at the remote object position based on the second image position is further based on the second heading.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the first heading includes the second heading.

22. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means for receiving multiple data sets;

wherein a first data set of the multiple data sets includes the first image and the first position; and

wherein a second data set of the multiple data sets includes the second image and the second position.