Surface Mapping System And Method

• US 20110153214A1
• Filed: 12/18/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Caterpillar Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Caterpillar Incorporated
• Inventors: Sprock, Christopher M., Hodel, Benjamin J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,364,405 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/00 Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects

Abstract

A surface mapping system including a controller configured with a plurality of instructions, the plurality of instructions including instructions to receive position data from each machine in a plurality of machines located on a worksite and to generate, utilizing the received position data, a display signal for providing a visual depiction of a surface of the worksite.

Claims

1. A surface mapping system comprising a controller configured with a plurality of instructions, the plurality of instructions comprising instructions to:

receive position data from each machine in a plurality of machines located on a worksite;

generate, utilizing the received position data, a display signal for providing a visual depiction of a surface of the worksite.

2. The surface mapping system of claim 1, further comprising a display configured to receive the display signal and to display the visual depiction of the surface of the worksite.

3. The surface mapping system of claim 1, wherein the visual depiction of the surface of the worksite is three-dimensional.

4. The surface mapping system of claim 1, wherein the position data comprises a plurality of discrete points and the plurality of instructions further comprises instructions to generate the display signal by removing outlying points from the plurality of discrete points.

5. The surface mapping system of claim 4, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises instructions to generate the display signal by generating a grid from non-outlying points in the plurality of discrete points.

6. The surface mapping system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises instructions to remove the outlying points from the plurality of discrete points by dividing a three-dimensional space defined by the plurality of discrete points into a plurality of volumetric units and determining which volumetric units in the plurality of volumetric units contain less than a preselected minimum number of discrete points, and omitting the discrete points contained in such volumetric units from the generation of the grid.

7. The surface mapping system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises instructions to remove the outlying points from the plurality of discrete points by determining which discrete points are beyond a preselected distance from any other discrete points and omitting such discrete points from the generation of the grid.

8. The surface mapping system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises instructions to remove the outlying points from the plurality of discrete points by scanning the plurality of discrete points with a three-dimensional form having preselected dimensions, determining which discrete points appear in the three-dimensional form with less than a preselected minimum number of discrete points, and omitting such discrete points from the generation of the grid.

9. The surface mapping system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises instructions to generate the grid from the non-outlying points by averaging values of adjacent points among the non-outlying points.

10. A surface mapping system, comprising:

a controller configured with a plurality of instructions, the plurality of instructions comprising instructions to;

receive position data from each machine in a plurality of machines located on a worksite, the position data comprising a plurality of discrete points;

generate, utilizing the received position data, a display signal for providing a visual depiction of a surface of the worksite, wherein generating the display signal includes removing outlying points from the plurality of discrete points in the position data and generating a grid from non-outlying points in the plurality of discrete points; and

a display configured to receive the display signal and to display the visual depiction of the surface of the worksite.

11. The surface mapping system of claim 10, wherein the visual depiction of the surface of the worksite is three-dimensional.

12. The surface mapping system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises instructions to remove the outlying points from the plurality of discrete points by dividing a three-dimensional space defined by the plurality of discrete points into a plurality of volumetric units, determining which volumetric units in the plurality of volumetric units contain less than a preselected minimum number of discrete points, and omitting the discrete points contained in such volumetric units from the generation of the grid.

13. The surface mapping system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises instructions to remove the outlying points from the plurality of discrete points by determining which discrete points are beyond a preselected distance from any other discrete points and omitting such discrete points from the generation of the grid.

14. The surface mapping system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises instructions to remove the outlying points from the plurality of discrete points by scanning the plurality of discrete points with a three-dimensional form having preselected dimensions, determining which discrete points appear in the three-dimensional form with less than a preselected minimum number of discrete points, and omitting such discrete points from the generation of the grid.

15. The surface mapping system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises instructions to generate the grid from the non-outlying points by averaging values of adjacent points among the non-outlying points.

16. A method for mapping a surface, comprising:

providing a controller and a display for receiving display signals from the controller;

receiving, in the controller, position data from each machine in a plurality of machines located on a worksite, the position data comprising a plurality of discrete points;

generating, in the controller, a display signal for providing a visual depiction of a surface of the worksite, said generating of the display signal comprising removing outlying points from the plurality of discrete points and generating a grid from non-outlying points in the plurality of discrete points; and

displaying the visual depiction of the surface of the worksite on the display.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the visual depiction of the surface of the worksite is three-dimensional.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said removing of the outlying points from the plurality of discrete points comprises dividing a three-dimensional space defined by the plurality of discrete points into a plurality of volumetric units, determining which volumetric units in the plurality of volumetric units contain less than a preselected minimum number of discrete points, and omitting the discrete points contained in such volumetric units from said generating of the grid.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein said removing of the outlying points from the plurality of discrete points comprises determining which discrete points are beyond a preselected distance from any other discrete points and omitting such discrete points from said generating of the grid.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein said removing of the outlying points from the plurality of discrete points comprises scanning the plurality of discrete points with a three-dimensional form having preselected dimensions, determining which discrete points appear in the three-dimensional form with less than a preselected minimum number of discrete points, and omitting such discrete points from said generating of the grid.