Photogrammetric apparatus
First Claim
1. A photogrammetric apparatus for capturing data on an object, comprising:
- a storage device having a database;
an image capture device including an imager adapted to communicate to the database an image of the object;
bearing, range, and azimuth finding devices adapted to communicate to the database a heading, a real distance between an image plane of the imager and the object along an imager axis, and a zenith angle of a target point on the object;
an image processor adapted to measure at least one second distance between at least two of a plurality of substantially coplanar points on the object in a pixel unit of measure and at least one of real unit of measure;
wherein the image processor is further configured to be calibrated by receiving from the database and processing a calibration image having a plurality of target indicia that are a predetermined real distance apart;
wherein, to calibrate, the image processor measures in the pixel unit of measure a calibration distance between at least two of the plurality of target indicia in the calibration image and computes an average scale ratio of the predetermined real distance to the calibration distance to compute a calibrated focal length of the imager; and
whereby the image processor is thereby calibrated to compute the second distance in real units of measure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A photogrammetric apparatus for capturing a single image of an object, capturing a plurality of data about the image, analyzing the data, and computing relationships between substantially coplanar points in the image. The apparatus includes an image capturing device that captures images and stores the images in a storage device with database. The database simultaneously receives and stores data from a bearing finding device, a range finding device, and an azimuth finding device. The apparatus may include a global positioning system (GPS) device to collect and store to the database a geophysical location of the image capturing device when the image was captured. The apparatus includes an image processor to analyze the images and data stored in the database. The image processor includes routines for calibrating the apparatus, measuring distances between substantially coplanar points in the image, and calculating a plurality of relationships among various coplanar points in the image.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A photogrammetric apparatus for capturing data on an object, comprising:
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a storage device having a database;
an image capture device including an imager adapted to communicate to the database an image of the object;
bearing, range, and azimuth finding devices adapted to communicate to the database a heading, a real distance between an image plane of the imager and the object along an imager axis, and a zenith angle of a target point on the object;
an image processor adapted to measure at least one second distance between at least two of a plurality of substantially coplanar points on the object in a pixel unit of measure and at least one of real unit of measure;
wherein the image processor is further configured to be calibrated by receiving from the database and processing a calibration image having a plurality of target indicia that are a predetermined real distance apart;
wherein, to calibrate, the image processor measures in the pixel unit of measure a calibration distance between at least two of the plurality of target indicia in the calibration image and computes an average scale ratio of the predetermined real distance to the calibration distance to compute a calibrated focal length of the imager; and
whereby the image processor is thereby calibrated to compute the second distance in real units of measure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A photogrammetric apparatus for capturing data on an object, comprising:
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a storage device having a database;
an image capture device including an imager adapted to communicate to the database an image of the object;
bearing, range, azimuth, and global positioning system coordinate finding devices adapted to communicate to the database a heading, a real distance between an image plane of the imager and the object along an imager axis, and a zenith angle of a target point on the object;
an image processor adapted to measure at least one second distance between at least two of a plurality of substantially coplanar points on the object in a pixel unit of measure and at least one of real unit of measure;
wherein the image processor is further configured to be calibrated by receiving from the database and processing a calibration image having a plurality of target indicia that are a predetermined real distance apart;
wherein, to calibrate, the image processor measures in the pixel unit of measure a calibration distance between at least two of the plurality of target indicia in the calibration image and computes an average scale ratio of the predetermined real distance to the calibration distance to compute a calibrated focal length of the imager; and
whereby the image processor is thereby calibrated to compute the second distance in real units of measure. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A photogrammetric apparatus for capturing data on an object, comprising:
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a storage device having a database;
an image capture device including an imager adapted to communicate to the database an image of the object;
bearing, range, and azimuth finding devices adapted to communicate to the database a heading, a real distance between an image plane of the imager and the object along an imager axis, and a zenith angle of a target point on the object;
a plurality of input and output devices in electronic communication with the database and the image processor, the plurality of devices including a display, a keyboard, and a plurality of pointing devices for identifying points on the display. an image processor adapted to measure at least one second distance between at least two of a plurality of substantially coplanar points on the object in a pixel unit of measure and at least one of real unit of measure;
wherein the image processor is further configured to be calibrated by receiving from the database and processing a calibration image having a plurality of target indicia that are a predetermined real distance apart;
wherein, to calibrate, the image processor measures in the pixel unit of measure a calibration distance between at least two of the plurality of target indicia in the calibration image and computes an average scale ratio of the predetermined real distance to the calibration distance to compute a calibrated focal length of the imager; and
whereby the image processor is thereby calibrated to compute the second distance in real units of measure. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A photogrammetric apparatus for capturing data on an object, comprising:
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a storage device having a database;
an image capture device including an imager adapted to communicate to the database an image of the object;
bearing, range, azimuth, and global positioning system coordinate finding devices adapted to communicate to the database a heading, a real distance between an image plane of the imager and the object along an imager axis, and a zenith angle of a target point on the object;
a plurality of input and output devices in electronic communication with the database and the image processor, the plurality of devices including a display, a keyboard, and a plurality of pointing devices for identifying points on the display. an expandable external device port assembly in electronic communication with the storage device and image processor, the external device port assembly being configured for transmitting and receiving data therewith;
an image processor adapted to measure at least one second distance between at least two of a plurality of substantially coplanar points on the object in a pixel unit of measure and at least one of real unit of measure;
wherein the image processor is further configured to be calibrated by receiving from the database and processing a calibration image having a plurality of target indicia that are a predetermined real distance apart;
wherein, to calibrate, the image processor measures in the pixel unit of measure a calibration distance between at least two of the plurality of target indicia in the calibration image and computes an average scale ratio of the predetermined real distance to the calibration distance to compute a calibrated focal length of the imager;
wherein the image processor is thereby calibrated to compute the second distance in real units of measure;
wherein the image processor computes a GPS coordinate set that corresponds to the geophysical location of the object using the image, the heading, the real distance, and the zenith angle stored in the database;
wherein the image processor further calculates;
1) the at least one second distance between a first and a second selected reference point by computing the sum of an “
H1”
distance between the first reference point from a horizontal line and an “
H2”
distance between the second reference point and the horizontal line;
2) a horizontal distance “
DH”
from the focal point “
fp”
to the object by multiplying the real distance “
DM”
with the sine of the zenith angle “
β
s”
;
3) a first reference angle “
Δ
β
A”
from the imager axis “
IA”
to a first reference point axis defined by a line from a focal point of the imager to the first reference point by computing the arc tangent of (a) a distance “
PA”
, in the image plane and in the pixel unit of measure, between the imager axis and the first reference point axis, divided by (b) the calibrated focal length “
f”
;
4) a second reference angle “
Δ
β
R”
from the imager axis “
IA”
to a second reference point axis defined by a second line from the focal point of the imager to the second reference point by computing the arc tangent of (a) a distance “
PR”
, in the image plane and in the pixel unit of measure, between the imager axis and the second reference point axis, divided by (b) the calibrated focal length “
f”
;
5) a first relative angle “
VA”
from the first reference point axis to the horizontal line by computing the sum of (a) the difference between ninety degrees and the zenith angle “
β
s” and
(b) the first reference angle “
Δ
β
A”
;
6) a second relative angle “
VR”
from the second reference point axis to the horizontal line by computing the negative of the sum of (a) the difference between ninety degrees and the zenith angle “
β
s” and
(b) the second reference angle “
Δ
β
R”
;
7) the “
H1”
distance by dividing the horizontal distance “
DH”
by the tangent of the first relative angle “
VA”
; and
8) the “
H2”
distance by dividing the horizontal distance “
DH”
by the tangent of the second relative angle “
VR”
;
wherein the image processor further calculates a plurality of geometric relationships between the at least two substantially coplanar points on the object using the at least one second distance and a plurality of additional second distances measured between respective additional coplanar points of the plurality of substantially coplanar points on the object. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification