Method and Apparatus for a Velocity Detection System Using Optical Growth Rate
First Claim
1. A method for determining the velocity of a moving object, the method comprising the steps of:
- locating an image capture plane;
capturing a first image at a first time interval from the image capture plane location, the first image comprising an image of at least one moving object;
capturing a second image at a second time interval from the image capture plane location, the second image comprising an image of at least one moving object and wherein the second time interval is greater than the first time interval;
determining the rate of growth of the image of the at least one moving object based on a dimensional comparison between the image of the at least one moving object from the first image and the image of the at least one moving object from the second image; and
calculating the velocity of the at least one moving object based on the rate of growth of the image of the moving object relative to the image capture plane.
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Abstract
The present invention is a velocity detection system and method. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a series of still images of moving automobiles are taken at known intervals. An Image processor algorithm is used to determine local features of the moving automobile and in conjunction with known optical formulas, the velocity of the moving object can be determined. Once the velocity is determined, all of the moving automobiles are highlighted with their calculated velocity on a liquid crystal display screen. Images may be exported into flash memory for future reference.
14 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for determining the velocity of a moving object, the method comprising the steps of:
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locating an image capture plane;
capturing a first image at a first time interval from the image capture plane location, the first image comprising an image of at least one moving object;
capturing a second image at a second time interval from the image capture plane location, the second image comprising an image of at least one moving object and wherein the second time interval is greater than the first time interval;
determining the rate of growth of the image of the at least one moving object based on a dimensional comparison between the image of the at least one moving object from the first image and the image of the at least one moving object from the second image; and
calculating the velocity of the at least one moving object based on the rate of growth of the image of the moving object relative to the image capture plane. - 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 determining the velocity of a moving vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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locating an image capture plane;
capturing a first image of a moving vehicle at a first time interval from the image capture plane location;
capturing a second image of the moving vehicle at a second time interval from the image capture plane location, wherein the second time interval is greater than the first time interval;
measuring the width of the vehicle from the first captured image;
determining the approximate distance of the moving vehicle from the image capture plane location by comparing the width of the vehicle from the first captured image with the width of the roadway;
measuring the height of the vehicle from the first captured image;
measuring the height of the vehicle from the second captured image;
determining the change in height of the image of the moving vehicle based on a comparison between the height of the vehicle in the first image and the height of the vehicle in the second image; and
calculating the velocity of the moving vehicle based on the change in height of the image of the moving vehicle and the approximate distance of the moving vehicle from the image capture plane location.
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20. A system for determining the velocity of a moving vehicle, the system comprising:
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a machine vision camera to capture a plurality of images at a plurality of successive time intervals, the plurality of images further comprising an image of at least one moving object;
a machine vision processor to determine the rate of growth of the image of the at least one moving object based on a dimensional comparison between at least two of the plurality of images captured by the machine vision camera and to calculate the velocity of the at least one moving object based on the determined rate of growth of the image of the at least one moving object. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification