System and method for creating, storing, and utilizing composite images of a geographic location
First Claim
1. In a system including an image database and a user terminal having a screen and an input device, a method for visually navigating a geographic area from a user terminal, the method comprising:
- storing a plurality of images in the image database representing objects within the geographic area, the images providing a non-aerial view of the objects;
identifying a current location in the geographic area;
retrieving an image corresponding to the current location from the image database;
monitoring a change of the current location in the geographic area; and
retrieving an image corresponding to the changed location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method synthesizing images of a locale to generate a composite image that provide a panoramic view of the locale. A video camera moves along a street recording images of objects along the street. A GPS receiver and inertial navigation system provide the position of the camera as the images are being recorded. The images are indexed with the position data provided by the GPS receiver and inertial navigation system. The composite image is created on a column-by-column basis by determining which of the acquired images contains the desired pixel column, extracting the pixels associated with the column, and stacking the columns side by side. The composite images are stored in an image database and associated with a street name and number range of the street being depicted in the image. The image database covers a substantial amount of a geographic area allowing a user to visually navigate the area from a user terminal.
57 Citations
38 Claims
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1. In a system including an image database and a user terminal having a screen and an input device, a method for visually navigating a geographic area from a user terminal, the method comprising:
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storing a plurality of images in the image database representing objects within the geographic area, the images providing a non-aerial view of the objects;
identifying a current location in the geographic area;
retrieving an image corresponding to the current location from the image database;
monitoring a change of the current location in the geographic area; and
retrieving an image corresponding to the changed location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for visually depicting a geographic area, the method comprising:
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storing a plurality of images in an image database representing objects within a geographic area, the images providing a non-aerial view of the objects;
receiving a user-entered search request;
identifying a portion of the geographic area based on the search request;
retrieving one or more images in the image database associated with the identified portion of the geographic area; and
displaying the retrieved images on a display.
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20. A system for visually navigating a geographic area from a user terminal, the system comprising:
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means for storing a plurality of images in the image database representing objects within the geographic area, the images providing a non-aerial view of the objects;
means for identifying a current location in the geographic area;
means for retrieving an image corresponding to the current location from the image database;
means for monitoring a change of the current location in the geographic area; and
means for retrieving an image corresponding to the changed location. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification