Position and Orientation Determination Using Movement Data

• US 20110149266A1
• Filed: 12/17/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Hellenbrand, Peter J., Troy, James J., Georgeson, Gary E., Lea, Scott W., Motzer, William P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,279,412 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/4.01
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 5/00 Designing, manufacturing, assembling, cleaning, maintaining or repairing aircraft, not otherwise provided for; Handling, transporting, testing or inspecting aircraft components, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/16 by integrating acceleration or speed, i.e. inertial navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/005 initial alignment, calibration or starting-up of inertial devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/16 using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves

Abstract

Position determining systems and methods are provided. A particular portable device includes a calibration component to communicate with a local positioning system to determine an initial position and orientation of the portable device within a local coordinate system associated with a target structure. The portable device also includes at least one movement sensor to detect movement of the portable device. The portable device further includes a processor to determine a measured position and orientation of the portable device based on the initial position and orientation of the portable device within the local coordinate system and based on the detected movement of the portable device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

initializing a portable device by storing position and orientation data in a memory of the portable device, the position and orientation data indicating a position and orientation of the portable device within a local coordinate system associated with a target structure;

detecting movement of the portable device;

determining movement data based on the detected movement; and

determining a spatial relationship of the portable device relative to the target structure based at least partially on the position and orientation data and the movement data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein initializing the portable device includes receiving target component data specifying a location in the local coordinate system of at least one target component of the target structure.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising accessing a memory storing target component data specifying locations of components of the target structure in the local coordinate system, wherein the target component data specifies locations of the components of the target structure based on one or more electronic representations of the target structure.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the spatial relationship of the portable device relative to the target structure includes determining a position and orientation of the portable device relative to one or more of the components of the target structure.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when the spatial relationship is within a first threshold distance of a target component, activating a first indicator at the portable device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising selecting the first threshold distance based on an identification of the target component.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising, when the spatial relationship is within a second threshold distance of the target component, activating a second indicator at the portable device, wherein the first threshold distance is different than the second threshold distance and wherein the first indicator is distinct from the second indicator, wherein at least one of the first indicator and the second indicator indicates a direction or distance to the target component.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the target structure is one of an aircraft, a space craft, a water craft, and a land craft.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving input at the portable device that selects a particular position of the portable device; and

searching component data to identify one or more components of the target structure having a specified spatial relationship to the particular position.

10. A portable device, comprising:

a calibration component to communicate with a local positioning system to determine an initial position and orientation of the portable device within a local coordinate system associated with a target structure;

at least one movement sensor to detect movement of the portable device; and

a processor to determine a measured position of the portable device within the target structure based on the initial position and orientation of the portable device within the local coordinate system and the detected movement of the portable device.

11. The portable device of claim 10, further comprising a memory accessible to the processor, the memory storing target component data specifying locations of components of the target structure in the local coordinate system, wherein the processor further determines a spatial relationship of the portable device to at least one of the components based on the measured position and the target component data.

12. The portable device of claim 11, further comprising an input device to receive input specifying a target component of the components of the target structure, wherein the processor determines information about a spatial relationship between the portable device and the target component based on the measured position and the target component data.

13. The portable device of claim 11, further comprising a pointer adapted to point to a location of a target component.

14. The portable device of claim 10, wherein the processor determines the measured position and orientation of the portable device when the portable device is not in a line of sight to the local positioning system.

15. The portable device of claim 10, further comprising a sensor to capture data at the measured position, wherein the processor stores the captured data with data descriptive of the measured position.

16. The portable device of claim 15, further comprising an interface to send the data descriptive of the measured position and the captured data to a remote device.

17. The portable device of claim 10, wherein the at least one movement sensor comprises one or more inertial sensors.

18. A positioning system, comprising:

a plurality of local position detectors to determine a position and orientation of a location of interest on a target structure within a first coordinate system;

a processor to determine a second coordinate system of the target structure based on the position and orientation of the target structure in the first coordinate system and based on at least a portion of one or more electronic representations of the target structure; and

a portable device including;

a memory to store an initial position and orientation of the portable device within the second coordinate system;

at least one movement sensor to detect movement of the portable device; and

a processor to determine a measured position and orientation of the portable device within the target structure based on the initial position and orientation of the portable device within the second coordinate system and based on the detected movement of the portable device.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the local position detectors comprise laser devices at known locations within the first coordinate system, the laser devices adapted to take measurements of a position and an orientation of the target structure within the first coordinate system.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a calibration frame including a plurality of target locations, wherein measurement data from the laser devices is used to determine the initial position and orientation of the portable device based on the position of the calibration frame.