POINT CLOUD VISUALIZATION OF ACCEPTABLE HELICOPTER LANDING ZONES BASED ON 4D LIDAR
First Claim
1. A method of selecting a safe landing zone for an aircraft comprising the steps of:
- receiving, from a LADAR or LIDAR system, 4 dimensional (4D) point cloud data as sequential image frames;
referencing, by a processor, each image frame to geographic coordinates;
selecting, by a processor, a land region in each image frame;
first filtering the land region, by a processor, to select a landing zone for the aircraft; and
second filtering the landing zone, by a processor, to select a safe landing zone for the aircraft.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A processor calculates a safe landing zone for an aircraft. The processor executes the following steps: (a) converting 4D point cloud data into Cartesian coordinates to form a height map of a region; (b) segmenting the height map to form boundaries of an object in the region; and (c) determining maximum height within the boundaries of the object. Also included are (d) determining if the maximum height is greater than a predetermined height to form a vertical obstruction (VO) in the region; and (e) determining if the VO is in the line of sight (LOS) of the aircraft to classify the landing zone as safe or unsafe. The processor further includes the step of: (f) forming a slope map over the height map.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of selecting a safe landing zone for an aircraft comprising the steps of:
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receiving, from a LADAR or LIDAR system, 4 dimensional (4D) point cloud data as sequential image frames; referencing, by a processor, each image frame to geographic coordinates; selecting, by a processor, a land region in each image frame; first filtering the land region, by a processor, to select a landing zone for the aircraft; and second filtering the landing zone, by a processor, to select a safe landing zone for the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for determining a landing zone for an aircraft comprising:
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a processor for receiving 4 dimensional (4D) point cloud data from a sensor including a LADAR or LIDAR sensor, the data defined by sequential image frames, the processor converting each image frame into Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z) to form a height map, in which x and y are a function of a scanning angle of the sensor and z is height, the processor configured to segment the height map into boundaries of a respective object in the image frame, the processor configured to find a maximum height within the boundaries of the respective object to form a vertical obstruction (VO) map, and the processor configured to mathematically move a mask over the VO map, wherein the mask is based on a predetermined landing area required for the aircraft; and a visualization system for displaying the mask over the VO map for landing the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A processor for calculating a safe landing zone for an aircraft, the processor executing the following steps:
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(a) converting 4D point cloud data into Cartesian coordinates to form a height map of a region, wherein the 4D point cloud data is received from a LADAR or LIDAR sensor; (b) segmenting the height map to form boundaries of an object in the region; (c) determining maximum height within the boundaries of the object, (d) determining if the maximum height is greater than a predetermined height to form a vertical obstruction (VO) in the region; and (e) determining if the VO is in the line of sight (LOS) of the aircraft to classify the landing zone as safe or unsafe. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification