METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL OBSTACLE MAPPING FOR NAVIGATION OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
First Claim
1. A method of obstacle mapping for navigation of an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
- providing an autonomous vehicle with an image capturing device;
focusing the image capturing device at a predetermined number of different specified distances to capture an image at each of the specified distances;
identifying which regions in each captured image are in focus;
assigning a corresponding lens-focus distance to each of the regions that are in focus;
forming a composite image based on each captured image, with each of the regions labeled with the corresponding lens-focus distance; and
producing a three-dimensional obstacle map from the composite image, wherein the three-dimensional obstacle map has an x, y, z coordinate system, with x being proportional to pixel horizontal position, y being proportional to pixel vertical position, and z being the lens-focus distance.
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Abstract
A method and system for obstacle mapping for navigation of an autonomous vehicle is disclosed. The method comprises providing an autonomous vehicle with an image capturing device, and focusing the image capturing device at a predetermined number of different specified distances to capture an image at each of the specified distances. The method further comprises identifying which regions in the captured images are in focus, and assigning a corresponding lens-focus distance to each of the regions that are in focus. A composite image is formed from the captured images, with each of the regions labeled with the corresponding lens-focus distance. A three-dimensional obstacle map is then produced from the composite image. The three-dimensional obstacle map has an x, y, z coordinate system, with x being proportional to pixel horizontal position, y being proportional to pixel vertical position, and z being the lens-focus distance.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of obstacle mapping for navigation of an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
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providing an autonomous vehicle with an image capturing device; focusing the image capturing device at a predetermined number of different specified distances to capture an image at each of the specified distances; identifying which regions in each captured image are in focus; assigning a corresponding lens-focus distance to each of the regions that are in focus; forming a composite image based on each captured image, with each of the regions labeled with the corresponding lens-focus distance; and producing a three-dimensional obstacle map from the composite image, wherein the three-dimensional obstacle map has an x, y, z coordinate system, with x being proportional to pixel horizontal position, y being proportional to pixel vertical position, and z being the lens-focus distance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An obstacle detection and mapping system, comprising:
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an image capturing device configured to focus at a predetermined number of different specified distances to capture an image at each of the specified distances; a mapping module in operative communication with the image capturing device, wherein the mapping module has instructions to; identify which regions in each captured image are in focus; assign a corresponding lens-focus distance to each of the regions that are in focus; form a composite image based on each captured image, with each of the regions labeled with the corresponding lens-focus distance; and produce a three-dimensional obstacle map from the composite image, wherein the three-dimensional obstacle map has an x, y, z coordinate system, with x being proportional to pixel horizontal position, y being proportional to pixel vertical position, and z being the lens-focus distance; and an obstacle avoidance module in operative communication with the mapping module. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon for a method of obstacle mapping for navigation of an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
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focusing an image capturing device at a predetermined number of different specified distances from an autonomous vehicle to capture an image at each of the specified distances; identifying which regions in each captured image are in focus; assigning a corresponding lens-focus distance to each of the regions that are in focus; forming a composite image based on each captured image, with each of the regions labeled with the corresponding lens-focus distance; and producing a three-dimensional obstacle map from the composite image, wherein the three-dimensional obstacle map has an x, y, z coordinate system, with x being proportional to pixel horizontal position, y being proportional to pixel vertical position, and z being the lens-focus distance. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification