Inspection Apparatus and Method
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for inspecting the under side of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of cameras located at predetermined positions and angles relative to one another, the cameras pointing in the general direction of the area of an object to be inspected; and
image processing means provided with (i) a first module for calibrating the cameras and for altering the perspective of image frames from said cameras and (ii) a second module for constructing an accurate mosaic from said altered image frames.
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Abstract
Apparatus and method for the inspection of an object. A linear array of cameras are located in a stationery position with the object moved over them. An image processor first applies calibration and perspective alterations to the consecutive frames of the cameras, then mosaics the frames together to form a single mosaiced image of the object. An undervehicle car inspection system is described which provides a single image of the entire underside of the vehicle, to scale.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. Apparatus for inspecting the under side of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of cameras located at predetermined positions and angles relative to one another, the cameras pointing in the general direction of the area of an object to be inspected; and
image processing means provided with (i) a first module for calibrating the cameras and for altering the perspective of image frames from said cameras and (ii) a second module for constructing an accurate mosaic from said altered image frames. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of inspecting an area of an object, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) positioning at least one camera, taking n image frames, proximate to the object;
(b) acquiring a first frame from the at least one camera;
(c) acquiring the next frame from said at least one camera;
(d) applying calibration and perspective alterations to said frames;
(e) calculating and storing mosaic parameters for said frames;
(f) repeating steps (c) to (e) n−
1 times; and
(g) mosaicing together the n frames from said at least one camera into a single mosaiced image. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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- 23. A method of creating a reference map of an object, the method comprising the steps of obtaining a single mosaiced image, selecting an area of the single mosaiced image and recreating or selecting the frame from which said area of the mosaiced image was created.
Specification