Optical device for correcting geostationary satellite imagery for earth curvature effects
First Claim
1. An imaging system for use in transforming images of a spherical body during image collection, comprising:
- an image collector collecting an image of the body from a distance above the body, wherein the collected image is substantially disk shaped and includes distortion in portions that are radially spaced apart from a center of the disk-shaped image, wherein at least some of the radially-spaced, distorted portions extend along a line of longitude and at least some of the radially-spaced, distorted portions extend along a line of latitude that is generally perpendicular to the line of longitude; and
wherein the distortion is due to curvature of the spherical body or due to oblique viewing angles;
an optical adapter receiving the collected image and transmitting a corrected image comprising the collected image with a correction to enhance resolution in the distorted portions; and
an image sensor with a receiving surface for sensing the corrected image.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical adapter for an imaging system correcting images of spherical or near spherical bodies such as the earth during satellite image collection. An imaging system includes an image collector that collects a two-dimensional image of the body from a distance above the body such as from a satellite in geostationary orbit. The collected image is disk shaped and includes distortion due to earth curvature, primarily in the form of a loss of resolution due to the foreshortening of earth features in a radial direction extending outward from the center of the image disk. The optical adapter receives the collected image, transforms the collected image to correct the distortion, and outputs a corrected image with essentially uniform spatial resolution across the areas for which the correction is applied. An image sensor such as charge-coupled device array senses the corrected image and creates a digital representation of the corrected image.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. An imaging system for use in transforming images of a spherical body during image collection, comprising:
-
an image collector collecting an image of the body from a distance above the body, wherein the collected image is substantially disk shaped and includes distortion in portions that are radially spaced apart from a center of the disk-shaped image, wherein at least some of the radially-spaced, distorted portions extend along a line of longitude and at least some of the radially-spaced, distorted portions extend along a line of latitude that is generally perpendicular to the line of longitude; and
wherein the distortion is due to curvature of the spherical body or due to oblique viewing angles;an optical adapter receiving the collected image and transmitting a corrected image comprising the collected image with a correction to enhance resolution in the distorted portions; and an image sensor with a receiving surface for sensing the corrected image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. An optical adapter for use in a remote sensing system for correction of distortions due to earth curvature or oblique viewing angles, comprising:
-
a first component for receiving an earth view comprising portions that are relatively near an edge of the earth view that are distorted relative to portions of the earth view that are relatively near a center of the earth view, wherein the distortions are due to earth curvature or oblique viewing angles; one or more optical components for generating a corrected earth view by progressively transforming the distorted portions to correct at least a portion of distortion in the received earth view;
wherein the one or more optical components substantially continuously transform the earth view from the portions that are relatively near a center of the earth view to the distorted portions that are relatively near an edge of the earth view; anda second component for transmitting the corrected earth view to a sensor. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A method for correcting geostationary satellite imagery, comprising:
-
obtaining an earth image comprising portions distal to a center of the earth image with distortion due to curvature effects;
wherein at least some of the portions extend along a line of longitude and at least some of the portions extend along a line of latitude that is generally perpendicular to the line of longitude;radially stretching at least some of the portions that extend along the line of longitude and at least some of the portions that extend along the line of latitude of the earth image having distortion to correct for the curvature effects to generate a corrected earth image; and transmitting the corrected earth image onto an image sensor. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
-
Specification