Ball with camera and trajectory control for reconnaissance or recreation

• US 20100277617A1
• Filed: 05/01/2010
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steven J. Hollinger
• Original Assignee: Steven J. Hollinger
• Inventors: Hollinger, Steven J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,237,787 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/231.99
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0034 during flight
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0021 Tracking a path or terminating locations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0003 Golf balls
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 43/00 Balls with special arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 43/04 with an eccentric centre of gravity; with mechanism for changing the centre of gravity solid balls A63B37/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/555 for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture

Abstract

A ball that provides normalized images of a ground-based target subject captured over the course of the arc of its airborne trajectory. The improvements include a processing unit that compiles multiple images into a smooth continuous fly-by video of the target subject, a processing unit that stitches multiple images captured at a single moment in the ball'"'"'s trajectory into a panoramic image and further normalizes and compiles multiple panoramic images into a smooth, continuous fly-through video, and an embedded motion sensor to initiate operations when the ball is pitched, and an embedded impact sensor to shut down operations for power conservation, and a mass which forces the camera into a repeated spinning or precessing orbit around the core of the ball, and a wireless transmission of surveillance imagery captured by the ball, and ground-based transmission of the target subject'"'"'s location for subsequent image capture, and means for capturing multiple images of varying viewpoints including a camera aperture connected to a branching collection of fused fiber optic bundles. Also disclosed are means for directing the ball along a controllable trajectory to move toward a ground-based target subject.

Claims

1. An image capture apparatus comprising:

a substantially spherical, resilient housing that is thrown or projected into an airborne trajectory;

a camera with a view to the exterior environment;

a memory unit for storage and retrieval of image data captured by the camera;

an orientation detector for sensing the orientation of the sphere relative to a ground-based target of image capture;

means for sensing position along the arc of the sphere'"'"'s trajectory;

a communications unit for providing access to an image to a user of the apparatus; and

a processing unit to provide the communications unit with an image of the ground-based target of image capture, said image spatially transformed by the processing unit to a predetermined normal relative to the ground-plane.

2. The image capture apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

the camera provides the processing unit with a stream of low-resolution images in real time; and

the processing unit analyzes the low-resolution image stream in order to detect a condition upon the presence of which the processing unit triggers the camera to capture a high-resolution image.

3. The image capture apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

the means for sensing position is at least one of GPS sensors, timers, accelerometers, motion sensors, altitude sensors, impact sensors and gyroscopes.

4. The image capture apparatus of claim 3 wherein:

a motion sensor signals the pitch of the sphere into its trajectory in order to initialize image capture operations.

5. The image capture apparatus of claim 3 wherein:

the sphere further comprises a mass to produce a gyroscopic force as the sphere is spun into its trajectory for the purpose of creating a substantially repeating camera viewpoint as the camera spins or precesses within the core of the sphere.

6. The image capture apparatus of claim 3 wherein:

the position sensor signals when the sphere is substantially near the apogee of its airborne trajectory; and

the orientation detector signals when the camera'"'"'s aperture is viewing in the general downward-facing direction of the Earth; and

upon the presence of both signals the processing unit triggers the camera to capture an image.

7. The image capture apparatus of claim 3 wherein:

the camera captures continuous video of the sphere'"'"'s exterior environment from a spiraling viewpoint; and

each frame of the captured video is tagged with its respective orientation and position relative to the earth; and

the processing unit analyzes the stored image frames to select only image frames representing a succession of frames of the ground-based target subject of image capture; and

the processing unit transformes the selected image frames to a predetermined normal relative to the ground-plane; and

the processing unit compiles the selected image frames into a stable fly-by video.

8. The image capture apparatus of claim 3 wherein:

the communications unit transmits images wirelessly.

9. The image capture apparatus of claim 3 wherein:

the processing unit stitches multiple images captured during a substantially similar moment in the sphere'"'"'s trajectory into a panoramic image of the sphere'"'"'s exterior environment normalized to a predetermined orientation.

10. The image capture apparatus of claim 9 wherein:

the processing unit compiles a plurality of panoramic images to create a viewable panoramic fly-through of the environment through which the sphere traveled.

11. The image capture apparatus of claim 3 wherein:

the processing unit detects when the sphere is substantially near a predetermined position in its trajectory and the camera is generally facing a predetermined direction; and

upon said condition the processing unit signals the camera to capture an image; and

the processing unit spatially transforms the captured image to a predetermined normal relative to the ground-plane.

12. The image capture apparatus of claim 11 wherein:

the processing unit compiles a plurality of normalized images into a video fly-by of the ground-based target subject.

13. The image capture apparatus of claim 11 wherein:

the predetermined direction for image capture is a fixed location on earth; and

said location is transmitted wirelessly to the sphere.

14. An image capture apparatus comprising:

a substantially spherical, resilient housing that is thrown or projected into an airborne trajectory;

and a camera having means to capture a plurality of images representing multiple unique viewpoints facing outwardly from the sphere at a moment in its trajectory;

a memory unit for storage and retrieval of image data captured by the camera;

an orientation detector for sensing the orientation of the sphere relative to a ground-based target of image capture;

means for sensing position along the arc of the sphere'"'"'s trajectory;

a communications unit for providing access to an image to a user of the apparatus; and

a processing unit to provide the communications unit with an image of the ground-based target of image capture, said image spatially transformed by the processing unit to a predetermined normal relative to the ground-plane.

15. The image capture apparatus of claim 14 wherein:

the means for capturing a plurality of images taken from a substantially similar position in the sphere'"'"'s airborne trajectory comprises;

a camera at the core of the sphere with a single aperture; and

said aperture is connected to an end of a fused fiber optic bundle; and

said fused fiber optic bundle branches out from its proximal end to a plurality of distal endpoints; and

each endpoint of the fused fiber optic bundle provides a coherent image to a respective portion at the cable'"'"'s proximal end; and

endpoints of the fused optic bundle are generally distributed and affixed to unique locations at the exterior housing of the sphere; and

thereby

at any moment in the ball'"'"'s trajectory the camera aperture is provided with a plurality of views looking outwardly in varying directions from the sphere.

16. The image capture apparatus of claim 15 wherein:

the means for sensing position is at least one of GPS sensors, timers, accelerometers, altitude sensors, impact sensors and gyroscopes.

17. The image capture apparatus of claim 16 wherein:

the processing unit stitches the plurality of images captured by the camera at a moment in the sphere'"'"'s trajectory into a panoramic image of the sphere'"'"'s exterior environment normalized to a predetermined orientation.

18. The image capture apparatus of claim 17 wherein:

the processing unit compiles a plurality of panoramic images to create a viewable panoramic fly-through of the environment through which the sphere traveled.

19. The image capture apparatus of claim 16 wherein:

the processing unit signals the camera to capture a plurality of images at a moment when the sphere is substantially near a predetermined target subject in its trajectory.

20. The image capture apparatus of claim 19 wherein:

the processing unit compiles a series of selected images into a fly-by video.