METHOD FOR THE ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING OF GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION OF A PATH

• US 20150192928A1
• Filed: 07/22/2013
• Published: 07/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Geonumerics, S.L.
• Original Assignee: Geonumerics, S.L.
• Inventors: Sastre I Sastre, Jaume
• Granted Patent: US 9,477,230 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 11/02 Picture taking arrangements specially adapted for photogrammetry or photographic surveying, e.g. controlling overlapping of pictures
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/04 by terrestrial means G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/00 Manufacturing, calibrating, cleaning, or repairing instruments or devices referred to in the other groups of this subclass testing, calibrating or compensating compasses G01C17/38
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0808 specially adapted for aircraft

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for the simultaneous acquisition and processing of geographical information of a path acquired by tandem terrestrial and aerial missions comprising a terrestrial vehicle and an unmanned aircraft whose trajectory is slaved to the terrestrial vehicle. The method comprises: acquiring geographical data and information from the terrestrial vehicle; sending trajectory information to the aircraft from a control station hosted on the terrestrial vehicle; the aircraft determining its trajectory according to the trajectory information of the terrestrial vehicle received; acquiring geographical data and information, including images, from the aircraft; obtaining, in a processing module, the orientation of the sensors of both terrestrial vehicle and aircraft from the geographical data and information acquired; calibrating, in a processing module, the sensors of both terrestrial vehicle and aircraft from the geographical data and information acquired; and associating every image acquired with the orientation and calibration obtained.

Claims

1. Method for the acquisition and processing of geographical information of a path, the method is characterized by comprising the next steps:

h) acquiring geographical data and information by means of a plurality of sensors of the terrestrial vehicle;

i) sending trajectory information of the terrestrial vehicle to the aircraft, from a control station hosted on the terrestrial vehicle, every certain period of time, where the time period is a design parameter;

j) when the aircraft receives the trajectory information of the terrestrial vehicle, the aircraft determining its trajectory according to the trajectory information of the terrestrial vehicle received;

k) acquiring geographical data and information, including images, by means of a plurality of sensors of the aircraft;

l) obtaining, in a processing module, the orientation of the sensors of both terrestrial vehicle and aircraft from the geographical data and information acquired;

m) calibrating, in a processing module, the sensors of both terrestrial vehicle and aircraft from the geographical data and information acquired;

n) associating every image acquired with the orientation and calibration obtained in steps e) and f) respectively.

2. Method according to claim 1 further comprising identifying geometrical figures of known size and shape on the roof of the terrestrial vehicle by an image sensor of the aircraft.

3. Method according to claim 2 further wherein obtaining the orientation and calibrating the sensors of the aircraft further comprising using positional, attitude, size and shape information of the geometrical figures on the roof of the terrestrial vehicle.

4. Method of any one of previous claims further comprising obtaining the orientation and calibrating the sensors of both the terrestrial vehicle and the aircraft further comprising using geographical information previously known.

5. Method according to any one of previous claims wherein geographical information further comprising identifying a same element in different images acquired by the image sensor of the aircraft.

6. Method according to any one of previous claims wherein geographical information further comprising identifying a same element in different images acquired by the image sensor of both the aircraft and the terrestrial vehicle.

7. Method according to claim any one of previous claims wherein the images acquired are time-tagged.

8. Method according to any one of previous claims wherein the geographical information comprises navigation information.

9. Method according to any one of the previous claims wherein the aircraft follow the same trajectory than the terrestrial vehicle with a temporal and spatial offset where the time delay and a vector difference between the aircraft and the terrestrial vehicle is a design parameter that can vary with time according to the commands of an operator.

10. Method according any one of previous claims further comprising analysing the data and geographical information obtained by the plurality of sensors of the terrestrial vehicle according to error patterns and known causes of errors to identify systematic errors or the potential existence of systematic errors.

11. Method according to claim 10 wherein when a possible systematic error is identified, the trajectory information acquired by the terrestrial vehicle is corrected by the geographical data and information acquired by the aircraft and by its trajectory.

12. Method according to any one of previous claims further comprising the terrestrial vehicle and the aircraft acquiring the geographical data and information simultaneously

17. A computer program comprising program code means adapted to perform the steps of the method according to any claims from 1 to 12 when said program is run on a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, a FPGA, an ASIC, a micro-processor, a micro-controller, or any other form of programmable hardware.

13. System for geographical information and data acquisition and geographical information and data processing characterized by comprising:

a terrestrial vehicle equipped with a plurality of sensors to acquire geographical information and data and a control station to control an aircraft;

an aircraft in communication with the terrestrial vehicle, equipped with a plurality of sensors to acquire geographical information and data;

a processing module in communication with both the terrestrial vehicle and the aircraft to process all the geographical information and data acquired by both the terrestrial vehicle and the aircraft.

14. System according to claim 13 wherein the aircraft further comprising image sensors.

15. System according to claim 14 wherein the terrestrial vehicle further comprising geometric figures on its roof.

16. System according to any one of claims 13-15 wherein the terrestrial vehicle further comprising image sensors.