Apparatus and method for simulated sensor imagery using fast geometric transformations

• US 20060210169A1
• Filed: 02/23/2006
• Published: 09/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems Incorporated (General Dynamics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems Incorporated (General Dynamics Corporation)
• Inventors: Zhu, Yang, Colestock, Mark
• Application Number:
  US11/359,365
• Publication Number:
  US 20060210169A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/218
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 3/02 using an independent line of sight
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/13 Satellite images

Abstract

The invention pertains generally to image processing. More specifically, the invention relates to the processing of sensor imagery using generated imagery. Embodiments of the invention include receiving sensor data, vehicle data, GPS data and accessing a database to obtain a pre-stored image of a target area. The pre-stored image of the target area may then be pre-processed by transforming the image into a warped coordinate system and adding visual effects to create projection image of the target area. The projection image may then be compared to a current image of the target area to determine a three-dimensional location of a target located in the target area. Additional embodiments of the invention include the use of a feedback loop for refinement and correction of results and/or the use of parallel processors to speed processing.

Claims

1. A target location apparatus comprising:

a sensor for receiving real-time image data of a target area; and

a processor including;

an effects processor configured to access a database, the database having at least one pre-stored image of the target area in a database coordinate system, wherein the effects processor is further configured to retrieve a pre-stored image of the target area from the database and to transform the pre-stored image to a warped coordinate system;

a visual processor configured to receive the transformed pre-stored image and to add visual effects to the transformed pre-stored image, the visual processor creating a projection image of the target area; and

an image processor configured to receive the projection image and the real-time image data, to convert the real-time image data into an image of the target area and to compare the projection image to the image of the target area;

wherein said processor outputs a location of a target in the target area based on the comparison of the projection image with the image of the target area.

2. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sensor is an electro-optical sensor.

3. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sensor is a radar sensor.

4. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sensor is a SAR radar sensor mounted on a vehicle.

5. The target location apparatus of claim 4, wherein said vehicle is an aircraft.

6. The target location apparatus of claim 4, wherein said vehicle is a spacecraft.

7. The target location apparatus of claim 4, wherein said vehicle is a land-vehicle.

8. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sensor is mounted on a stationary sensor mount.

9. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein the target is a geographic feature.

10. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein the database includes at least one of a digital elevation model, a digital point precision database, digital terrain elevation data and at least one pre-stored topographic map.

11. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein the target is a man-made object.

12. The target location apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a display for displaying an image of the target area.

13. The target location apparatus of claim 12, wherein the target is selected by an operator.

14. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein the visual effects include at least one of squint effects, shadow effects, layover effects, reflectivity effects, environmental effects and texture effects.

15. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein the coordinate system of the projection image and the coordinate system of the image of the target area are substantially the same coordinate systems.

16. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein the location of the target is calculated in real-time.

17. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processor outputs geo-registration parameters for correlating a pre-stored image of the target with the current image of the target.

18. The target location apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a closed feedback loop, the closed feedback loop being configured to provide the output geo-registration parameters from a previous processing iteration to the effects processor for iterative processing of geo-registration parameters for the current image.

19. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein the effects processor is a PMC graphics processor, a DSP processor or an FPGA processor.

20. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein the visual processor is a PMC graphics processor, a DSP processor or an FPGA processor.

21. The target location apparatus of claim 1, wherein the location of the target is output as a three-dimensional location.

22. A method of processing sensor data, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving real-time image data of a target area from a sensor;

converting the real-time image data of the target area into an image of the target area;

receiving a pre-stored image of the target area in a database coordinate system;

transforming the pre-stored image of the target area into an image of the target area in a warped coordinate system;

transforming the image of the target area in a warped coordinate system to create a projection image of the target area;

comparing the projection image to the image of the target area; and

determining the location of a target in the target area based on the comparison of the projection image and the image of the target area.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of transforming the image of the target area in a warped coordinate system further comprises adding effects to the image of the target in a warped coordinate system.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the effects include at least one of squint effects, shadow effects, layover effects, reflectivity effects, environmental effects and texture effects.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of receiving real-time image data of a target area from a sensor is performed by a radar sensor.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of receiving real-time image data of a target area from a sensor is performed by an electro-optical sensor.

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the pre-stored image of the target area is stored in a database containing at least one of a digital elevation model, a digital point precision database, digital terrain elevation data and at least one pre-stored topographic map.

28. The method of claim 22, wherein the pre-stored image of the target area is an image based on real-time image data previously received from the sensor.

29. The method of claim 22, wherein the location of the target is calculated in real-time.

30. The method of claim 22, wherein the projection image and the image of the target area are compared in identical coordinate systems.

31. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of determining geo-registration parameters for correlating a pre-stored image of the target area with the image of the target area.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of combining the image of the target area with a second image of the target area using the geo-registration parameters.

33. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of transforming the pre-stored image of the target area into an image of the target area in a warped coordinate system is performed by a PMC graphics processor, a DSP processor or an FPGA processor.

34. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of transforming the image of the target area in a warped coordinate system to create a projection image is performed by a PMC graphics processor, a DSP processor or an FPGA processor.