METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR RUNWAY SEGMENTATION USING SENSOR ANALYSIS

• US 20090214080A1
• Filed: 12/17/2008
• Published: 08/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Hamza, Rida M., Feyereisen, Thea L., Ramegowda, Dinesh, Mohideen, Mohammed Ibrahim
• Granted Patent: US 7,826,666 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10048 Infrared image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30252 Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/11 Region-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/13 Satellite images

Abstract

Systems and methods for determining whether a region of interest (ROI) includes a runway are provided. One system includes a camera for capturing an image of the ROI, an analysis module for generating a binary large object (BLOB) of at least a portion of the ROI, and a synthetic vision system including a template of the runway. The system further includes a segmentation module for determining if the ROI includes the runway based on a comparison of the template and the BLOB. One method includes the steps of identifying a position for each corner on the BLOB and forming a polygon on the BLOB based on the position of each corner. The method further includes the step of determining that the BLOB represents the runway based on a comparison of the polygon and a template of the runway. Also provided are computer-readable mediums storing instructions for performing the above method.

Claims

1. A system for determining whether a region of interest (ROI) includes a runway having a plurality of corners, comprising:

a camera configured to capture an image of the ROI;

an analysis module coupled to the camera and configured to generate a binary large object (BLOB) of at least a portion of the ROI;

a synthetic vision system (SVS) including a template of the runway; and

a segmentation module coupled to the analysis module and the SVS, the segmentation module configured to determine if the ROI includes the runway based on a comparison of the template and the BLOB.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the analysis module is further configured to identify a position for each corner on the BLOB and form a polygon on the BLOB based on the position of each corner.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the analysis module is further configured to divide the BLOB into a left portion containing a first upper section and a first lower section, and a right portion containing a second upper section and a second lower section.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the segmentation module is configured to identify a first slope from a corner in the first upper section to a corner in the first lower section, a second slope from a corner in the second upper section to a corner in the second lower section, or both.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the segmentation module is further configured to:

compare the first slope with a third slope on a left side of the template, comparing the second slope with a fourth slope on a right side of the template, or both; and

determine that the BLOB represents the runway if the first slope matches the third slope within a predetermined error, if the second slope matches the fourth slope within the predetermined error, or both.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the analysis module, in generating the BLOB, is configured to:

stretch a contrast of the captured image to create a range of intensity values in the captured image;

filter intensity values that are outside of the range of intensity values; and

determine a shape of the BLOB based on the template.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the segmentation module is further configured to:

determine a center of mass of the BLOB based on the template;

adjust one or more boundaries of the template; and

filter pixels in the BLOB that lie outside of the adjusted one or more boundaries of the template.

8. A method for determining whether a binary large object (BLOB) represents a runway having a plurality of corners, comprising the steps of:

identifying a position for each corner on the BLOB;

forming a polygon on the BLOB based on the position of each corner; and

determining that the BLOB represents the runway based on a comparison of a template of the runway and the polygon.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the identifying step further comprises the step of dividing the BLOB into a left portion containing a first upper section and a first lower section, and a right portion containing a second upper section and a second lower section.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the forming step further comprises the steps of:

identifying a first slope from a corner in the first upper section to a corner in the first lower section; and

identifying a second slope from a corner in the second upper section to a corner in the second lower section.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

comparing the first slope with a third slope on a left side of the template; and

comparing the second slope with a fourth slope on a right side of the template, wherein the determining step comprises the step of determining that the BLOB represents the runway if the first slope matches the third slope within a predetermined error, if the second slope matches the fourth slope within the predetermined error, or both.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of generating the BLOB, wherein generating the BLOB comprises the steps of:

capturing an image of a region of interest;

stretching a contrast of the captured image to create a range of intensity values in the captured image;

filtering intensity values that are outside of the range of intensity values; and

determining a shape of the BLOB based on the template.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein forming the polygon comprises the steps of:

determining a center of mass of the BLOB;

adjusting one or more boundaries of the template; and

filtering pixels in the BLOB that lie outside of the adjusted one or more boundaries of the template.

14. A computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for determining whether a binary large object (BLOB) represents a runway having a plurality of corners, the method comprising the steps of:

identifying a position for each corner on the BLOB;

forming a polygon on the BLOB based on the position of each corner; and

determining that the BLOB represents the runway based on a comparison of a template of the runway and the polygon.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, further including instructions that cause the processor to perform the step of dividing the BLOB into a left portion containing a first upper section and a first lower section, and a right portion containing a second upper section and a second lower section.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, further including instructions that cause the processor to perform the steps of:

identifying a first slope from a corner in the first upper section to a corner in the first lower section; and

identifying a second slope from a corner in the second upper section to a corner in the second lower section.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, further including instructions that cause the processor to perform the steps of:

comparing the first slope with a third slope on a left side of the template;

comparing the second slope with a fourth slope on a right side of the template; and

determining that the BLOB represents the runway if the first slope matches the third slope within a predetermined error, if the second slope matches the fourth slope within the predetermined error, or both.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, further including instructions that cause the processor to perform the step of generating a BLOB, wherein the instructions for generating the BLOB comprises instructions that cause the processor to perform the steps of:

capturing an image of a region of interest;

stretching a contrast of the captured image to create a range of intensity values in the captured image;

filtering intensity values that are outside of the range of intensity values; and

determining a shape of the BLOB based on the template.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions for forming the polygon comprise instructions that cause the processor to perform the steps of:

determining a center of mass of the BLOB;

adjusting one or more boundaries of the template; and

filtering pixels in the BLOB that lie outside of the adjusted one or more boundaries of the template.