Direct broadcast imaging satellite system apparatus and method for providing real-time, continuous monitoring of earth from geostationary earth orbit and related services
First Claim
1. An imaging satellite configured to be placed in geostationary orbit, comprising:
- an image sensor configured to be positioned toward Earth when in geostationary orbit and configured to produce data of a series of images of at least a portion of a surface of the Earth; and
a transmitter configured to transmit the data to a remote location so that said series of images may be viewed in real-time at said remote location, wherein each image of said series of images having a hyper-spectral resolution of 100 m or better.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system, method and apparatus for collecting an distributing real-time, high resolution images of the Earth from GEO include an electro-optical sensor based on multi-megapixel two-dimensional charge coupled device (CCD) arrays mounted on a geostationary platform. At least four, three-axis stabilized satellites in Geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) provide worldwide coverage, excluding the poles. Image data that is collected at approximately 1 frame/sec, is broadcast over high-capacity communication links (roughly 15 MHz bandwidth) providing real-time global coverage of the Earth at sub-kilometer resolutions directly to end users. This data may be distributed globally from each satellite through a system of space and ground telecommunication links. Each satellite carries at least two electro-optical imaging systems that operate at visible wavelengths so as to provide uninterrupted views of the Earth'"'"'s full disk and coverage at sub-kilometer spatial resolutions of most or selected portions of the Earth'"'"'s surface.
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Citations
98 Claims
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1. An imaging satellite configured to be placed in geostationary orbit, comprising:
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an image sensor configured to be positioned toward Earth when in geostationary orbit and configured to produce data of a series of images of at least a portion of a surface of the Earth; and
a transmitter configured to transmit the data to a remote location so that said series of images may be viewed in real-time at said remote location, wherein each image of said series of images having a hyper-spectral resolution of 100 m or better. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 35)
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18. A constellation of at least four imaging satellites in geostationary orbit, each satellite comprising:
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an image sensor positioned toward Earth and configured to produce data of a series of images of at least a portion of a surface of the Earth; and
a transmitter configured to transmit the data to a remote location so that said series of images may be viewed in real-time at said remote location, wherein each image of said series of images having a hyper-spatial resolution equating to 10 m or better if taken at nadir, wherein each of said at least four satellites being configured to communicate with ground facilities located within line of sight of respective of the at least four satellites.
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20. A method for capturing and distributing real-time image data from geostationary orbit, comprising steps of:
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forming a series of images of at least a portion of a surface of Earth, including forming the series of images at a frame rate of 1 second per frame or faster, and forming the series of images with respective resolutions equating to at least 500 m if taken at nadir;
producing a stream of data representative of the series of images; and
transmitting the data to a remote location. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 39)
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34. An imaging satellite configured to be placed in geostationary orbit, comprising:
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means for forming a series of images of at least a portion of a surface of Earth, including means for forming the series of images at a frame rate that is one second or less, means for forming the series of images with respective resolutions equating to at least 500 m if taken at nadir;
means for producing a stream of data that represents the series of images; and
means for transmitting the data to a remote location.
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38. An imaging satellite system having a hyper-resolution capability of 100 m or less, comprising:
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an image sensor configured to be positioned on a platform for use in geostationary orbit, said image sensor being positioned towards earth and configured to produce data of a series of images of at least a portion of a surface of the earth; and
a transmitter configured to transmit the data to a remote location so that said series of images may be viewed at said remote location; and
a traffic congestion detection mechanism for determining an amount of traffic present on a particular roadway as observed from space and an indicator of said traffic being included in said traffic message.
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40. A maritime weather reporting system, comprising:
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an image sensor positioned toward Earth and configured to produce data of a series of images of at least a portion of a surface of the Earth; and
a transmitter configured to transmit the data to a remote location so that said series of images may be viewed in real-time at said remote location, wherein each image of said series of images having a resolution of 100 m or less, wherein said remote location being a maritime vessel configured to receive by way of wireless communication weather pattern information provided by optical information collected from said image sensor.
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41. A weather event reporting system, comprising:
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an image sensor positioned in geostationary satellite positioned toward Earth and configured to produce data of a series of images of at least a portion of a surface of the Earth; and
a transmitter configured to transmit the data to a remote location so that said series of images may be viewed in real-time at said remote location, wherein each image of said series of images having a resolution that equates to at least 500 m or better resolution at nadir, wherein said transmitter is configured to transmit the data to a remote location, and said remote location being configured to produce an e-mail message to be sent to a subscriber reporting a presence of a predetermined weather pattern known to exist at said remote location as observed by said image sensor.
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42. A method for providing commodity-value related data to a commodity trader, comprising steps of:
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receiving from a transmitter in geostationary orbit real-time image data of a predetermined portion of a surface of the Earth and cloud activity above the predetermined portion, a resolution of said image data being at least 500 m or better resolution at nadir;
analyzing said real-time image data and identifying a feature in said real-time image data indicative of an event that affects a present or future value of a commodity;
preparing a message alert regarding said present or future value of said commodity and identifying said commodity; and
sending said message alert to a remote computer configured to present said message alert to the commodity trader. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. A computer-implemented analysis apparatus for providing commodity-value related data to a commodity trader, comprising:
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a receiver configured to receive from a transmitter in geostationary orbit real-time image data of a predetermined portion of a surface of the Earth and cloud activity above the predetermined portion, said image data having a resolution that equates to 500 m or better resolution if taken at nadir;
a processor configured to analyze said real-time image data and identify a feature in said real-time image data indicative of an event that affects a present or future value of a commodity, said processor being programmed to prepare a message alert regarding said present or future value of said commodity and identifying said commodity in said message alert; and
an output terminal configured to output to a communication channel said message alert to a remote computer configured to present said message alert to the commodity trader. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A method for managing a transportation fleet, comprising steps of:
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receiving from a transmitter in geostationary orbit real-time image data of a predetermined portion of a surface of the Earth and cloud activity above the predetermined portion, said image data having a resolution that equates to 500 m or better resolution if taken at nadir;
analyzing said real-time image data and identifying a feature in said real-time image data indicative of an event that affects an ease of vehicle passability of a predetermined transportation route in said predetermined portion;
preparing a transportation route direction message with an instruction to follow an alternate transportation route; and
sending a transportation route direction message to a remote computer configured to present said transportation route direction message to a vehicle affected by the event. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73)
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69. A computer-implemented analysis apparatus for managing a transportation fleet, comprising:
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a receiver configured to receive from a transmitter in geostationary orbit real-time image data of a predetermined portion of a surface of the Earth and cloud activity above the predetermined portion, said image data having a resolution that equates to 500 m or better resolution if taken at nadir;
a processor configured to analyze said real-time image data and identify a feature in said real-time image data indicative of an event that affects an ease of possibility of a predetermined transportation route in said predetermined portion, said processor being programmed to prepare a transportation route direction message with an instruction to follow an alternate transportation route; and
an output terminal configured to output to a communication channel said transportation route direction message to a remote computer configured to present said transportation route direction message to a vehicle affected by the event.
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74. A method for managing a public utility, comprising steps of:
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receiving from a transmitter in geostationary orbit real-time image data of a predetermined portion of a surface of the Earth and cloud activity above the predetermined portion, said image data having a resolution that equates to 500 m or better resolution if taken at nadir;
analyzing said real-time image data and identifying a feature in said real-time image data indicative of an event that affects a demand on a predetermined service area;
preparing an asset reallocation message to shift an operational load from assets normally servicing said predetermined service area to other assets of the public utility; and
sending said asset reallocation message to a control computer configured to at least partially shift an operational load from the assets normally servicing the predetermined service area to the other assets. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81)
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79. A computer-implemented public utility asset allocation apparatus, comprising:
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a receiver configured to receive from a transmitter in geostationary orbit real-time image data of a predetermined portion of a surface of the Earth and cloud activity above the predetermined portion, said image data having a resolution that equates to 500 m or better resolution if taken at nadir;
a processor configured to analyze said real-time image data and identify a feature in said real-time image data indicative of an event that affects an amount of loading on a predetermined sector of public utility assets, said processor being programmed to prepare an asset reallocation message with an instruction to reallocate an expected change in load on said sector based on an occurrence of said event; and
an output terminal configured to send said asset reallocation message to a control computer configured to at least partially shift an operational load from the assets in the sector normally servicing the predetermined service area to other public utility assets.
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82. A method for modeling weather patterns, comprising steps of:
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receiving from a transmitter in geostationary orbit real-time image data of a predetermined portion of a surface of the Earth taken at sub-minute intervals and cloud activity above the predetermined portion, said image data having a resolution that equates to 500 m or better resolution if taken at nadir;
analyzing said real-time image data using time as a parameter having sub-minute resolution between adjacent images produced from said real-time image data;
identifying a feature in said real-time image data indicative of a weather-related event to be tracked;
saving respective locations of said feature for each sub-minute interval;
predicting a movement of said feature by projection of future positions of said feature by projection of a temporal pattern of past positions of said feature saved in said saving step. - View Dependent Claims (83)
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84. A method for mitigating weather-related damage and injury by issuing a specific warning message, comprising steps of:
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receiving from a transmitter in geostationary orbit real-time image data of a predetermined portion of a surface of the Earth and cloud activity above the predetermined portion, said image data having a resolution that equates to 500 m or better resolution if taken at nadir;
analyzing said real-time image data and identifying a feature in said real-time image data indicative of a serious weather event to effect a warning region within said predetermined portion of the surface of the Earth;
querying a database to identify an address of a subscriber having property located within said warning region;
preparing a message alert addressed to said subscriber; and
sending said message alert to said subscriber so as to enable the subscriber can take affirmative self-security steps and steps to secure property of the subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (85, 86, 87, 88, 89)
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90. A computer-implemented analysis apparatus for mitigating weather-related damage and injury by issuing a specific warning message, comprising:
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a receiver configured to receive from a transmitter in geostationary orbit real-time image data of a predetermined portion of a surface of the Earth and cloud activity above the predetermined portion, said image data having a resolution that equates to 500 m or better resolution if taken at nadir;
a computer readable medium configured to hold a database of subscriber information, said database including an address and a geographic region for a subscriber;
a processor configured to analyze said real-time image data and identify a feature in said real-time image data indicative of a serious weather event to effect a warning region within said predetermined portion of the surface of the Earth, said processor being programmed to query the database and preparing a message alert addressed to said particular subscriber if said warning region coincides with said geographic region for said subscriber; and
an output terminal configured to output to a communication channel said message alert to a remote computer configured to present said message alert to the subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (91, 92, 93)
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94. A method for assessing weather-related damage, comprising steps of:
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receiving from a transmitter in geostationary orbit real-time image data of man-made and natural features in a predetermined portion of a surface of Earth, said image data having a resolution that equates to 500 m or better resolution if taken at nadir;
analyzing said real-time image data and identifying a change in said features after a serious weather-related event relative to before an occurrence of said serious weather-related event;
preparing an assessment message configured to convey to an assessment agency said change in said features; and
sending said assessment message to said assessment agency. - View Dependent Claims (95, 96, 97)
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98. A weather-related damage assessment apparatus, comprising:
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means for receiving from a transmitter in geostationary orbit real-time image data of man-made and natural features in a predetermined portion of a surface of the Earth, said image data having a resolution that equates to 500 m or better resolution if taken at nadir;
means for analyzing said real-time image data and means for identifying a change in said features after a serious weather-related event relative to before an occurrence of said serious weather-related event;
means for preparing an assessment message configured to convey an indication of said change in said features; and
means for sending said assessment message to said assessment agency.
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Specification