Navigation using self-describing fiducials

• US 10,417,469 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2017
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Morgan E. Davidson, Randall S. Christensen, Richard C. Robinson
• Original Assignee: Morgan E. Davidson, Randall S. Christensen, Richard C. Robinson
• Inventors: Davidson, Morgan E., Christensen, Randall S., Robinson, Richard C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Soofi, Yazan A
• Application Number:
  US15/588,661
• Publication Number:
  US 20170323129A1
• Time in Patent Office: 863 Days
• Field of Search: 701533
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/1656 with passive imaging devices, e.g. cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2007/10485 Arrangement of optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10871 randomly oriented data-fields, code-marks therefore, e.g. concentric circles-code
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1413 1D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1421 Circular bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/08 Disposition or mounting of heads or light sources relatively to record carriers

Abstract

In one embodiment, a self-describing fiducial includes a communication element that optically communicates navigation-aiding information. The navigation-aiding information may include a position of the self-describing fiducial with respect to one or more coordinate systems and the communication element communicates the navigation-aiding information to one or more navigating objects in the vicinity of the self-describing fiducial.

Claims

1. A self-describing fiducial comprising:

a communication element that is configured to optically communicate navigation state estimation aiding information to one or more navigating objects in the vicinity of the self-describing fiducial for state estimation;

wherein the navigation-aiding information comprises a geographic position of the self-describing fiducial with respect to one or more coordinate systems.

2. The self-describing fiducial of claim 1, wherein the communication element comprises a barcode.

3. The self-describing fiducial of claim 1, wherein the communication element comprises a dynamic barcode communicating time varying data.

4. The self-describing fiducial of claim 1, wherein the communication element comprises a barcode visible through a 360 degree angle.

5. The self-describing fiducial of claim 1, wherein the communication element comprises a light emitting source and wherein the navigation-aiding information is optically communicated by modulation of the light emitted by the light emitting source.

6. The self-describing fiducial of claim 5, wherein light from the light emitting source comprises at least one of:

nonvisible light and polarized light.

7. The self-describing fiducial of claim 1, wherein the navigation aiding information comprises covariance information associated with the position of the self-describing fiducial.

8. The self-describing fiducial of claim 1, wherein the self-describing fiducial comprises:

a power source; and

an encoder;

wherein the communication element comprises an optical transmitter, wherein the power source provides power to the encoder, and the encoder encodes a location of the self-describing fiducial to produce an encoded location and the optical transmitter optically broadcasts the encoded location.

9. The self-describing fiducial of claim 1, wherein the communication element further communicates navigation aiding information comprising at least one of:

traffic volume levels, flight corridor heights, lateral location, speed restrictions, weather information, no fly zones, traffic patterns, or an all-stop signal.

10. The self-describing fiducial of claim 1, wherein the self-describing fiducial is on a navigating object and wherein the self-describing fiducial transmits navigation parameters of the navigating object.

11. The self-describing fiducial of claim 1, wherein the power source comprises a solar panel and the communication element comprises at least one light emitting diode.

12. The self-describing fiducial of claim 1, wherein the communication element optically transmits a pointer to a matrix stored in the navigating device, the matrix comprising location information for the self-describing fiducial.

13. The self-describing fiducial of claim 1, wherein the matrix stored on the navigating device is updated to improve accuracy of the location information.

14. A system of self-describing fiducials comprising a plurality of self-describing fiducials, each self-describing fiducial optically communicating its location and position covariance information related to its location.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising a navigating object having a clear line of sight to a portion of the self-describing fiducials, wherein the self-describing fiducials are physically distributed such that the navigating object uniquely calculates its position from a single observation.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of self-describing fiducials self-initialize by estimating at least one of:

relative position to other surrounding self-describing fiducials and a location of the self-describing fiducial with respect to at least one coordinate system.

17. A method for navigating comprising:

taking an image with a camera mounted on a navigating object;

identifying a self-describing fiducial within the image;

acquiring an optically communicated geographic position of the self-describing fiducial; and

processing the optically communicated location to estimate at least one navigational state of the navigating object.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein acquiring an optically communicated location of the self-describing fiducial comprises analyzing an image of the self-describing fiducial, wherein the self-describing fiducial comprises a barcode.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising calculating an angle of the self-describing fiducial by calculating a location of an image of the self-describing fiducial on a focal plane of the camera.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein processing the optically communicated location comprises inputting the optically communicated location into a navigation filter.