Vision Based Calibration System For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
First Claim
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1. An automated calibration system, comprising:
- a camera configured to be positioned relative to a vehicle such that a base fiducial and a movable fiducial on the vehicle are visible within a field of view of the camera; and
and a testing and calibration computer configured to;
receive an image of the base fiducial and the movable fiducial from the camera, the image comprising image data;
determine a relative orientation between the base fiducial and the movable fiducial based on the image data;
determine a real position of a movable part of the vehicle based on the relative orientation between the base fiducial and the movable fiducial, and a position of a base surface of the vehicle;
compare the real position of the movable part to a reported position for the movable part; and
generate a notification if a difference between the real position and the reported position is greater than a threshold amount.
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Abstract
An unmanned aircraft system includes a testing and calibration system that enables automated testing of movable parts of an unmanned aircraft. The testing and calibration system uses a camera-based technique to determine the position and angle of movable parts, in order to establish whether or not those parts are moving in a manner consistent with correct function.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An automated calibration system, comprising:
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a camera configured to be positioned relative to a vehicle such that a base fiducial and a movable fiducial on the vehicle are visible within a field of view of the camera; and and a testing and calibration computer configured to; receive an image of the base fiducial and the movable fiducial from the camera, the image comprising image data; determine a relative orientation between the base fiducial and the movable fiducial based on the image data; determine a real position of a movable part of the vehicle based on the relative orientation between the base fiducial and the movable fiducial, and a position of a base surface of the vehicle; compare the real position of the movable part to a reported position for the movable part; and generate a notification if a difference between the real position and the reported position is greater than a threshold amount. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for automated calibration, comprising:
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capturing, with a camera, an image of a base fiducial and a movable fiducial, the image comprising image data; determining a relative orientation between the base fiducial and the movable fiducial based on the image data; determining a real position of a movable part of a vehicle based on the relative orientation between the base fiducial and the movable fiducial, and a position of a base surface of the vehicle; comparing the real position of the movable part to a reported position for the movable part; and generating a notification if a difference between the real position and the reported position is greater than a threshold amount. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for predicting failures in a movable part of a vehicle, comprising:
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a data collection process, the data collection process comprising; capturing, with a camera, an image of a base fiducial affixed to a surface of the vehicle adjacent to the movable part and a movable fiducial affixed to the movable part, the image comprising image data; determining a relative orientation between the base fiducial and the movable fiducial based on the image data; determining a real position of a movable part of a vehicle based on the relative orientation between the fiducials and a known real position of a base surface of the vehicle; and generating an actuator variance based on a difference between the real position of the movable part and a reported position for the movable part; a model development process comprising; executing the data collection process a plurality of times over a period of time for the movable part of the vehicle and storing a plurality of actuator variances generated by the data collection process over the period of time; observing a failure in the movable part; and developing a predictive model based on the stored plurality of actuator variances; and a diagnostic process comprising; executing the data collection process a second plurality of times for a second movable part of a second vehicle over a second period of time and storing a second plurality of actuator variances generated by the data collection process over the second period of time; applying the predictive model to the second plurality of actuator variances; and generating a notification based on the output of the predictive model. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification