3-dimensional interactive image modeling system

• US 6,484,101 B1
• Filed: 08/16/2000
• Issued: 11/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ImageLinks, Inc. (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ImageLinks, Inc. (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lucas, Mark R., Melero, Kenneth
• Primary Examiner(s): McElheny, Jr., Donald E.
• Application Number:
  US09/640,135
• Time in Patent Office: 825 Days
• Field of Search: 702/2, 702/5, 702/11, 702/12, 702/13, 702/14, 702/16, 702/17
• US Class Current: 702/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models

Abstract

A system and method for generating custom geospatial information maps and precision corrected images allows realtime interactive production of a desired output image by incorporating user selectable parameters that define various image synthesizing operations. A graphical user interface allows a user to specify parameters that define the desired output image. The parameters define image synthesizing operations such as area, projection, datum, fusion, masking, blending, mosaiking, resampling, and others. The desired output image is processed by an image assembly server, and electronically delivered to a user via a public access network. A user may therefore receive a desired output image that conforms to a variety of user-specified parameters interactively via the image assembly server, and interactively update and refine the desired output image via the graphical user interface, thereby providing an active archive of a set of images that can be revised dynamically.

Claims

1. A method of interactively generating geospatial image maps comprising:

gathering, from a plurality of geospatial sensors, raw geospatial data;

determining, for the raw geospatial data, correction data indicative of sensor based inaccuracies in the raw geospatial data;

staging the raw geospatial data using the correction data to produce a plurality of raw geospatial files and a plurality of geometry files each including correcting metadata;

storing the plurality of raw geospatial files and the plurality of geometry filing in a geospatial database adapted to store geospatial image data including raw geospatial data and correcting metadata;

generating a product specification file having a plurality of keywords indicative of the desired output image;

assembling, from the plurality of geometry files, a resampling file set including the geometry files and the raw geospatial data files corresponding to the desired output image;

processing, in a resampling engine, the product specification file and the resampling file set to produce the desired output image; and

transmitting, to a user, the desired output image.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein staging further comprises generating an initial conditions component and a correcting component, wherein the initial conditions component is indicative of sensor based deviations during sensor reading, and wherein the correcting component is indicative of a measurable deviation computed from the raw geospatial data and the initial conditions component.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein assembling the resampling file set further comprises:

identifying at least one geometry file from the plurality of geometry files and a corresponding raw geospatial file from the plurality of raw geospatial files to be employed for processing the product specification file;

requesting, from the geospatial database, each of the identified geometry files and raw geospatial files as the resampling file set; and

receiving, at the image assembly server, the resampling file set.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein processing further comprises:

parsing, from the product specification file at least one keyword indicative of an image synthesizing operation;

selecting, from the resampling file set, a synthesizing file set corresponding to files to be employed by the image synthesizing operation;

referencing, in an image synthesizing library, at least one of the image synthesizing operations corresponding to the keyword; and

synthesizing, via the resampling engine and the image synthesizing operation, the synthesizing file set to yield a synthesized file set.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

deriving a further resampling file set from the synthesized file set;

parsing, from the product specification file, at least one additional keyword indicative of an image synthesizing operation;

referencing, in an image synthesizing library, at least one image synthesizing operation corresponding to the keyword; and

synthesizing, via the resampling engine and the image synthesizing operation, the further resampling file set to yield a successive synthesized file set.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein synthesizing via the resampling engine further comprises operations selected from the group consisting of mosaicking, fusing, blending, masking, projecting, rotating, and orienting.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein processing further comprises

parsing, from the product specification file, a desired output format;

and

translating, based on the desired output format, the synthesized file set into the desired output image.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the product specification file further comprises:

building a product template file having a plurality of parameters, each of the parameters indicative of an aspect of the desired output image;

defining the parameters as user definable parameters and default parameters;

specifying, for each of the default parameters a default value indicative of the desired output image;

receiving, for each of the user definable parameters, user-specified input data corresponding to the desired output image.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the product specification file further comprises receiving, from a user, the keywords indicative of the desired output image.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the product specification file further comprises:

executing a product definition application at a remote computing device;

generating, via user driven inputs to the product definition application at least one keyword indicative of an image synthesizing operation;

storing at least one keyword in the product specification file; and

transmitting, to the image assembly server, the product specification file.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein generating the product specification file further comprises:

receiving, via the product definition application, point-and-click user driven inputs; and

storing, in the product specification file, keywords corresponding to the point-and-click user driven inputs.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein transmitting the product specification file and transmitting the desired output image further comprises transmitting via an Internet gateway to a public access network.

13. A system for generating custom geospatial image maps comprising:

a geospatial data base adapted to store a plurality of geometry files, wherein the geometry files correspond to raw geospatial data and include correction data indicative of sensor based inaccuracies in the raw geospatial data;

a product specification file indicative of a desired output image, wherein the product specification file includes keywords indicative of processing operations and parameters corresponding to the desired output image;

a user interface operable to build the product specification file; and

a resampling engine operable to perform image synthesizing operations to produce the desired output image as a result of the product specification file and at least one of the plurality of geometry files.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the correction data further comprises initial condition parameters and a set of correcting parameters, wherein the initial condition parameters are indicative of sensor based deviations during sensor reads, and wherein the set of correcting parameters are indicative of a measurable deviation computed from the raw geospatial data and the initial condition parameters.

15. The system of claim 13 further comprising a resampling file set, wherein the resampling file set includes at least one of the raw geospatial files and a corresponding one of the geometry files to be employed for processing the product specification file to produce the desired output image.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein the image assembly server further includes a library of image synthesizing operations in communication with the resampling engine.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the product specification file further comprises at least one keyword corresponding to at least one of the image synthesizing operations in the library of image synthesizing operations.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein the desired output image has an output file format and the resampling engine is further operable to write the desired output image in the output file format.

19. The system of claim 13 further comprising a product template file having a plurality of the parameters, each indicative of an aspect of the desired output image, wherein the parameters further comprise user-definable parameters and default parameters.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein each of the parameters corresponds to at least one of the keywords in the product specification file.

21. The system of claim 13 further comprising a product definition application operable to receive at least one user input and further operable to generate the product specification file from the user inputs, wherein the user inputs are indicative of keywords.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the product definition application further includes at least one point-and-click interface, wherein the user inputs are received via the point and click interface.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the product definition application executes on a remote computing device in communication with the image assembly server via an Internet gateway and a public access network.

24. The system of claim 13 further comprising an Internet gateway operable to transmit the product specification file and the desired output image via a public access network.

25. The system of claim 13 wherein the image synthesizing operations include operations selected from the group consisting of mosaicking, fusing, blending, masking, projecting, rotating, area, datum, and orienting.

26. A computer program product having computer program code for interactively generating geospatial image maps comprising:

computer program code for gathering, from a plurality of geospatial sensors, raw geospatial data;

computer program code for determining, for the raw geospatial data, correction data indicative of sensor based inaccuracies in the raw geospatial data;

computer program code for staging the raw geospatial data using the correction data to produce a plurality of raw geospatial files and a plurality of geometry files each including correcting metadata;

computer program code for storing the plurality of raw geospatial files and the plurality of geometry filing in a geospatial database adapted to store geospatial image data including raw geospatial data and the correcting metadata;

computer program code for generating a product specification file having a plurality of keywords indicative of the desired output image;

computer program code for assembling, from the plurality of geometry files, a resampling file set including the geometry files and the raw geospatial data files corresponding to the desired output image;

computer program code for processing, in a resampling engine, the product specification file and the resampling file set to produce the desired output image; and

computer program code for transmitting, to a user, the desired output image.

27. A system for generating custom geospatial image maps comprising:

means for gathering, from a plurality of geospatial sensors, raw geospatial data;

means for determining, for the raw geospatial data, correction data indicative of sensor based inaccuracies in the raw geospatial data;

means for staging the raw geospatial data using the correction data to produce a plurality of raw geospatial files and a plurality of geometry files each including correcting metadata;

means for storing the plurality of raw geospatial files and the plurality of geometry filing in a geospatial database adapted to store geospatial image data including raw geospatial data and the correcting metadata;

means for generating a product specification file having a plurality of keywords indicative of the desired output image;

means for assembling, from the plurality of geometry files, a resampling file set including the geometry files and the raw geospatial data files corresponding to the desired output image;

means for processing, in a resampling engine, the product specification file and the resampling file set to produce the desired output image; and

means for transmitting, to a user, the desired output image.