METHOD FOR DETERMINING POSITION AND ORIENTATION OF VEHICLE TRAILERS
First Claim
1. A method for determining position and orientation of a trailer attached to a vehicle, the method comprising:
- (a) placing a video camera on the vehicle so that the camera is pointed at the trailer;
(b) attaching a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver to the vehicle;
(c) mounting, on the vehicle, a device for measuring spatial orientation;
(d) generating relative positions of the GNSS receiver, the measuring device and the camera;
(e) placing a marker on the trailer in a field of view of the camera;
(f) measuring a height of the camera'"'"'s location relative to the marker;
(g) storing global positioning coordinates and spatial orientation data when forming an image of the trailer by the camera;
(h) identifying, in the image, pixels corresponding to the marker;
(i) generating a simplified image frame containing only the pixels corresponding to the marker;
(j) calculating spatial position and orientation of the camera based on the height of the camera and the relative positions;
(k) correcting perspective distortion of the simplified image frame based on the spatial position and the orientation of the camera;
(l) calculating azimuth orientation of the marker based on positioning of the marker pixels on the simplified image frame and the position and the orientation of the camera; and
(m) determining azimuth orientation of the trailer based on the azimuth orientation of the marker.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for determining orientation and positioning of a vehicle trailer. A digital camera is placed on a vehicle. The camera is pointed to a trailer attached to the vehicle. The camera acquires images of the trailer. These images are processed and spatial positioning and orientation of the trailer is determined based on image processing. A special marker visible by the camera is set on the trailer. Relative positions of devices attached to the vehicle—global positioning receiver, spatial orientation measuring device and the digital camera are measured. When each digital frame is formed, coordinates and orientation data of the camera are measured. Pixels corresponding to the marker in the image are determined. A simplified copy of the image, containing only the data related to the marker pixels, is generated. The marker pixels are used for calculating position and azimuth orientation of the marker. The azimuth orientation of the trailer is calculated based on calculated azimuth orientation of the marker.
99 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for determining position and orientation of a trailer attached to a vehicle, the method comprising:
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(a) placing a video camera on the vehicle so that the camera is pointed at the trailer; (b) attaching a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver to the vehicle; (c) mounting, on the vehicle, a device for measuring spatial orientation; (d) generating relative positions of the GNSS receiver, the measuring device and the camera; (e) placing a marker on the trailer in a field of view of the camera; (f) measuring a height of the camera'"'"'s location relative to the marker; (g) storing global positioning coordinates and spatial orientation data when forming an image of the trailer by the camera; (h) identifying, in the image, pixels corresponding to the marker; (i) generating a simplified image frame containing only the pixels corresponding to the marker; (j) calculating spatial position and orientation of the camera based on the height of the camera and the relative positions; (k) correcting perspective distortion of the simplified image frame based on the spatial position and the orientation of the camera; (l) calculating azimuth orientation of the marker based on positioning of the marker pixels on the simplified image frame and the position and the orientation of the camera; and (m) determining azimuth orientation of the trailer based on the azimuth orientation of the marker. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for determining position and orientation of a trailer attached to a vehicle, the method comprising:
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(a) placing a video camera on the vehicle so that the camera is pointed at the trailer; (b) attaching a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver to the vehicle; (c) mounting, on the vehicle, a device for measuring spatial orientation; (d) generating relative positions of the GNSS receiver, the measuring device and the camera; (e) placing a marker on the trailer in a field of view of the camera; (f) measuring a height of the camera'"'"'s location relative to the marker; (g) storing global positioning coordinates and spatial orientation data when forming an image of the trailer by the camera; (h) calculating spatial position and orientation of the camera based on the height of the camera and the relative positions; (i) correcting perspective distortion of the image frame based on the spatial position and the orientation of the camera; (j) identifying, in the image, pixels corresponding to the marker; (k) generating a simplified image frame containing only the pixels corresponding to the marker; (l) calculating azimuth orientation of the marker based on positioning of the marker pixels on the simplified image frame and the position and the orientation of the camera; and (m) determining azimuth orientation of the trailer based on the azimuth orientation of the marker.
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13. A system for determining position and orientation of a trailer attached to a vehicle, the system comprising:
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a video camera placed on the vehicle for generating digital images of the trailer; a processing unit connected to the camera via data channel; a global coordinate positioning device connected to the processing unit via a data channel; a device for measuring spatial orientation and connected to the processing unit via the data channel; and a marker located on the trailer in a view field of the camera, wherein the processing unit processes image data from the camera and calculates position and azimuth orientation of the trailer based on the data from the global coordinate positioning receiver and data from the device for measuring spatial orientation. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification