Apparatus for referencing and sorting images in a three-dimensional system
First Claim
1. A spatially referenced camera comprising:
- a camera capable of capturing data representative of plural images of objects;
a camera orientation sensor connected to said camera and generating data defining the orientation of said camera;
a position sensor which includes a plurality of accelerometers rigidly attached to said camera and generating data defining the position of said camera when each image is captured, said position defining data needing adjustment relative to said orientation defining data to compensate for camera orientation during motion; and
a data capture device that captures image representation data from said camera, position defining data from said position sensor, and orientation defining data from said orientation sensor and that stores said data.
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Abstract
An image system which captures, along with the images, information defining both the position and the orientation of the camera along with the distance to the subject. A video camera is attached to three accelerometers, two gyroscopes, and a rangefinder. Data gathered from these devices and defining the pitch, yaw, and roll of the camera, the camera'"'"'s acceleration, and the distance to the subject is captured and recorded along with video images. The video images are later stored within a computer'"'"'s data base along with data defining the position and orientation of the camera and the distance to the subject for each image, this latter data being computed from the captured data. The images may then be presented to the user in a three-dimensional display in which the user can navigate through the images using a joystick device, with the images located in positions corresponding to the positions in space of the objects that were imaged.
149 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A spatially referenced camera comprising:
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a camera capable of capturing data representative of plural images of objects;
a camera orientation sensor connected to said camera and generating data defining the orientation of said camera;
a position sensor which includes a plurality of accelerometers rigidly attached to said camera and generating data defining the position of said camera when each image is captured, said position defining data needing adjustment relative to said orientation defining data to compensate for camera orientation during motion; and
a data capture device that captures image representation data from said camera, position defining data from said position sensor, and orientation defining data from said orientation sensor and that stores said data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A spatially referenced camera comprising:
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a video camera and data recorder capable of capturing video data representative of plural images of objects and storing said video data on a magnetic storage medium;
orientation sensing gyroscopes rigidly attached to said camera by means of gimbals and generating gimbal rotational position data to serve as camera orientation defining data;
position sensing accelerometers rigidly attached to said camera to define the position of said camera when each image is captured, a processor programmed to use said orientation defining data to adjust accelerometer-generated position defining data to compensate for camera orientation during motion; and
a tracking data acquisition unit attached to said camera and arranged to receive said position and orientation defining data and to present said data for storage on said magnetic storage medium. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A spatially referenced camera comprising:
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a cameral capable of capturing data representative of plural images of objects;
an orientation sensor connected to said camera for capturing data defining the orientation of said camera, said orientation of said camera including rotation about three axes of rotation;
a position sensor which includes a plurality of accelerometers rigidly attached to said camera to define the position of said camera when images are captured, said position sensor adapted to be adjusted relative to said orientation defining data to compensate for camera orientation during motion; and
a data capturing device that receives image representation data from said camera, position defining data from said position sensor, and orientation defining data from said orientation sensor and for storing all of said data.
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Specification