OPTICAL GROUND TRACKING APPARATUS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS
First Claim
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1. A buried object locator, comprising:
- a housing;
one or more magnetic field antennas;
a buried object detection module in the housing and electrically coupled to the one or more magnetic field antennas for determining the relative position and orientation of a buried object based on magnetic field signals emitted from the buried object;
a pair of camera modules disposed in the housing and oriented along downward and/or outward axes relative to a forward-facing orientation of the housing; and
a processing element disposed in the housing and configured to receive images and/or video streams from the camera modules and generate, based at least in part on the received images or video streams, location or tracking information associated with a movement of the housing.
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Abstract
Optical ground tracking apparatus for use with buried object locators or other instruments or devices are disclosed. In one embodiment, a ground tracking apparatus integral with or coupled to a buried object locator includes a housing, a plurality of camera modules, a distance measurement module, and a processing element to generate tracking information based on images or video streams from the camera modules in combination with distance data generated from the distance measurement module.
25 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A buried object locator, comprising:
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a housing; one or more magnetic field antennas; a buried object detection module in the housing and electrically coupled to the one or more magnetic field antennas for determining the relative position and orientation of a buried object based on magnetic field signals emitted from the buried object; a pair of camera modules disposed in the housing and oriented along downward and/or outward axes relative to a forward-facing orientation of the housing; and a processing element disposed in the housing and configured to receive images and/or video streams from the camera modules and generate, based at least in part on the received images or video streams, location or tracking information associated with a movement of the housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A processor-implemented method for generating tracking information, comprising:
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receiving images and/or video streams from a plurality of camera modules disposed in a housing; and generating, based at least in part on the received images or video streams, location or tracking information associated with a movement of the housing. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification