Creation of optimized terrain databases
First Claim
1. A method for generating an optimized terrain database for at least one region, comprising:
- designating a first region as a test region;
receiving first and second sets of terrain data for the test region, wherein each set of terrain data includes a plurality of data points, the first set of terrain data collected utilizing a first terrain data collection method and including a first quantity of data points, the second set of terrain data collected utilizing a second terrain data collection method and including a second quantity of data points, the first quantity greater than the second quantity;
correlating data points in the first set of terrain data with data points in the second set of terrain data that are in substantially the same location;
determining elevation error margins for the first set of terrain data based on the data point correlations;
establishing a safety margin for the test region based on the elevation error margins determined for the correlated points within the first set of terrain data;
applying the safety margin to the remaining data points in the first set of terrain data that have not been correlated to data points in the second set of terrain data, to create an optimized terrain model for the entire first test region; and
applying the safety margin to a set of terrain data for a second region having terrain quality characteristics similar to terrain quality characteristics of the first test region to create an optimized terrain database for the second region, the set of terrain data for the second region collected utilizing the first terrain data collection method.
3 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for generating an optimized terrain database identify several regions, including test regions that are established from the identified regions. A first set of terrain data is received for a first test region. The first set of terrain data is compared to a second set of terrain data to determine a set of quality attributes. The quality attributes are used to determine a safety margin for the first test region. The safety margin is applied to other regions having the same or similar characteristics to the first test region. Safety margins are either generated for or applied to all other regions. All regions are then compiled into an area-wide terrain database, up to and including a worldwide database.
23 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method for generating an optimized terrain database for at least one region, comprising:
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designating a first region as a test region; receiving first and second sets of terrain data for the test region, wherein each set of terrain data includes a plurality of data points, the first set of terrain data collected utilizing a first terrain data collection method and including a first quantity of data points, the second set of terrain data collected utilizing a second terrain data collection method and including a second quantity of data points, the first quantity greater than the second quantity; correlating data points in the first set of terrain data with data points in the second set of terrain data that are in substantially the same location; determining elevation error margins for the first set of terrain data based on the data point correlations; establishing a safety margin for the test region based on the elevation error margins determined for the correlated points within the first set of terrain data; applying the safety margin to the remaining data points in the first set of terrain data that have not been correlated to data points in the second set of terrain data, to create an optimized terrain model for the entire first test region; and applying the safety margin to a set of terrain data for a second region having terrain quality characteristics similar to terrain quality characteristics of the first test region to create an optimized terrain database for the second region, the set of terrain data for the second region collected utilizing the first terrain data collection method. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer-based system including a processor and an associated memory, said system operable for generating an optimal terrain database for at least one region by executing a plurality of program modules, the program modules comprising:
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a region/test region selection module operable for user selection of a test region having at least one terrain quality characteristic; a quality attribute module that generates elevation error margins for a first set of terrain data collected using a first terrain data collection method based on a second set of terrain data collected using a second collection method; a safety margin module that determines a safety margin for the test region from the elevation error margins for the first set of terrain data; and a correlation module that applies the safety margin for the test region to one or more other regions having terrain quality characteristics similar to the test region to create an optimized terrain database for the one or more other regions, the set of terrain data for the one or more other regions collected utilizing the first terrain data collection method. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer-readable medium forming an optimized terrain database having stored thereon a data structure, comprising:
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a first set of terrain data; and a safety envelope applied to the first set of terrain data, wherein the safety envelope is created by comparing the first set of terrain data collected utilizing a first terrain data collection method to a second set of terrain data collected utilizing a second terrain data collection method, wherein; the first set of terrain data includes data for a plurality of defined regions within the optimized terrain database; the first and second sets of terrain data are compared for a first defined region to generate elevation error margins and define an optimized terrain model for the first defined region; and the safety envelope is applied to the first set of terrain data for a second defined region to create an optimized terrain database for the second defined region, provided that the first and second defined regions have similar characteristics.
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Specification