Method and apparatus for stabilized reproduction of remotely-sensed images
First Claim
1. The method of stabilizing, during reproduction, the image of a scene acquired as an electronic signal by a scanning electromagnetic energy sensor contained within a structure, comprising the steps of:
- a. Acquiring, substantially simultaneously with the acquisition of the sensor signal, an electronic data sequence representing the instantaneous deviation, from the nominal, of the attitude of the structure, relative to the scene, said data sequence comprising three substantially simultaneous electronic signals, each representing said deviation with respect to a single one of three mutually orthogonal axes; and
b. Generating a reproduction image of the sensor by deflecting, in accordance with the scan cycle of the sensor, an image-generating beam whose instantaneous relative amplitude corresponds to the amplitude of the sensor signal, and pertrubing said deflection, substantially simultaneously, in accordance with said data sequence.
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Abstract
Disclosed is a method and apparatus for reproducing remotely sensed images in which the effect of attitude perturbation in the sensing device is removed from the image.
The image is acquired by means of an electromagnetic radiation sensor mounted on a non-stationary body, such as an earth satellite, a helicopter, or the shoulder of a cameraman. An electronic signal representative of the three-axis attitude perturbation of the sensor is generated simultaneously with the data signal from sensor and a signal representative of the instantaneous nominal attitude thereof. These signals are transmitted (in some cases with the intermediate step of tape recording) to an image reproduction device such as a cathode ray tube or a portion of photographic film exposed by a narrow-beam light source. The data signal activates the image generator (i.e., the electron beam or the exposing light source); the signal corresponding to the nominal sensor attitude scans the image generator (e.g., by plate or coil deflection in the cathode ray tube or by beam deflection in the photographic image reproduction system); and the three-axis attitude perturbation signals perturb the image generator motion in the same manner as the sensor itself is perturbed while sensing the original image.
25 Citations
30 Claims
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1. The method of stabilizing, during reproduction, the image of a scene acquired as an electronic signal by a scanning electromagnetic energy sensor contained within a structure, comprising the steps of:
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a. Acquiring, substantially simultaneously with the acquisition of the sensor signal, an electronic data sequence representing the instantaneous deviation, from the nominal, of the attitude of the structure, relative to the scene, said data sequence comprising three substantially simultaneous electronic signals, each representing said deviation with respect to a single one of three mutually orthogonal axes; and b. Generating a reproduction image of the sensor by deflecting, in accordance with the scan cycle of the sensor, an image-generating beam whose instantaneous relative amplitude corresponds to the amplitude of the sensor signal, and pertrubing said deflection, substantially simultaneously, in accordance with said data sequence. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. The apparatus for stabilizing, during reproduction, the image of a scene acquired as an electronic signal by a scanning electromagnetic energy sensor contained within a structure, comprising:
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a. Means for acquiring, substantially simultaneously with the acquisition of the sensor signal, an electronic data sequence representing the instantaneous deviation, from the nominal, of the attitude of the structure relative to the scene, said data sequence comprising three substantially simultaneous electronic signals, each representing said deviation with respect to a single one of three mutually orthogonal axes; and b. Means for generating a reproduction image of the scene including means for deflecting, in accordance with the scan cycle of the sensor, an image-generating beam whose instantaneous relative amplitude corresponds to the amplitude of the sensor signal, and means for perturbing said deflection, substantially simultaneously, in accordance with said data sequence. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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19. The apparatus as recited in cliam 16, wherein said sensor comprises a television camera pickup tube.
Specification