AUTOMATED SLIVER REMOVAL IN ORTHOMOSAIC GENERATION

• US 20160171654A1
• Filed: 02/10/2016
• Published: 06/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maxar Intelligence Incorporated (Galileo Parent, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: DigitalGlobe, Inc. (Galileo Parent, Inc.)
• Inventors: SWANSON, NATHAN
• Granted Patent: US 9,916,640 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/32 involving image mosaicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10032 Satellite or aerial image; Remote sensing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30181 Earth observation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4038 Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images

Abstract

Techniques for automatically removing slivers from orthomosaics. First, slivers may be identified, which may be based upon user-configurable characteristics such as width and length. Second, slivers may be replaced with portions of another image, such as an older image. Third, boundary slivers may optionally be removed. Fourth, remaining boundary or interior slivers can be inflated by expanding the sliver until it is no longer a sliver, which may include replacing a portion of an adjacent image portion with older imagery.

Claims

1-16. -16. (canceled)

17. A computer-implemented process for improving an orthomosaic composed of portions from a plurality of different images, comprising:

providing an orthomosaic composed of portions of a first image and portions of a second image, wherein the first image was captured later in time than the second image;

automatically detecting with a computer one or more slivers in the orthomosaic by identifying one or more portions of the first image in the orthomosaic that have a width less than a predetermined width and a length greater than a predetermined length; and

automatically removing with a computer one or more slivers along a perimeter of the orthomosaic.

18. A process as defined in claim 17, wherein the removing portion of the process is optional, based on a user configuration made prior to the computer running the process.

19. A process as defined in claim 18, wherein, if the user configuration for perimeter sliver removal is made, all of the boundary slivers are removed.

20. A process as defined in claim 17, wherein all of the boundary slivers are removed.

21. A computer-implemented process for improving an orthomosaic composed of portions from a plurality of different images, comprising:

providing an orthomosaic composed of portions of a first image and portions of a second image, wherein the first image was captured later in time than the second image;

automatically detecting with a computer one or more slivers in the orthomosaic by identifying one or more portions of the second image in the orthomosaic that have a width less than a predetermined width and a length greater than a predetermined length; and

automatically inflating with a computer one or more of the slivers.

22. A process as defined in claim 21, wherein the inflated slivers are those that are not along a perimeter of the orthomosaic.

23. A process as defined in claim 21, wherein the inflating includes replacing portions of adjacent areas of the orthomosaic.

24. A process as defined in claim 23, wherein the replaced portions are from the first image and the replacing portions are from the second image.

25. A process as defined in claim 24, wherein portions of the first image and portions of the second image overlap with each other as to geodetic portions captured in each image, and wherein the replaced portions and the replacing portions of the first and second images, respectively, are overlapping portions.

26. A process as defined in claim 24, wherein the inflated slivers are those that are not along a perimeter of the orthomosaic.

27-32. -32. (canceled)