Method and apparatus for producing 3D model of an underground environment
First Claim
1. A method of producing a three-dimensional (3D) model of an underground environment, comprising the steps of:
- a) acquiring 3D information of an underground environment from at least one range sensing device;
b) producing a 3D model of the underground environment from the acquired 3D information suitable for visualization, analysis or post-processing;
c) locating the range sensing device by back-sighting to at least two existing survey stations located in the underground environment using a second range sensing device in a fixed relationship to said first range sensing device; and
d) based on the position information from step c, transforming the 3D model of the underground mine to a map of the underground environment in a coordinate frame of reference of the underground environment.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a system (method and apparatus) for creating photorealistic 3D models of environments and/or objects from a plurality of stereo images obtained from a mobile stereo camera and optional monocular cameras. The cameras may be handheld, mounted on a mobile platform, manipulator or a positioning device. The system automatically detects and tracks features in image sequences and self-references the stereo camera in 6 degrees of freedom by matching the features to a database to track the camera motion, while building the database simultaneously. A motion estimate may be also provided from external sensors and fused with the motion computed from the images. Individual stereo pairs are processed to compute dense 3D data representing the scene and are transformed, using the estimated camera motion, into a common reference and fused together. The resulting 3D data is represented as point clouds, surfaces, or volumes. The present invention also provides a system (method and apparatus) for enhancing 3D models of environments or objects by registering information from additional sensors to improve model fidelity or to augment it with supplementary information by using a light pattern projector. The present invention also provides a system (method and apparatus) for generating photo-realistic 3D models of underground environments such as tunnels, mines, voids and caves, including automatic registration of the 3D models with pre-existing underground maps.
-
Citations
19 Claims
-
1. A method of producing a three-dimensional (3D) model of an underground environment, comprising the steps of:
-
a) acquiring 3D information of an underground environment from at least one range sensing device; b) producing a 3D model of the underground environment from the acquired 3D information suitable for visualization, analysis or post-processing; c) locating the range sensing device by back-sighting to at least two existing survey stations located in the underground environment using a second range sensing device in a fixed relationship to said first range sensing device; and d) based on the position information from step c, transforming the 3D model of the underground mine to a map of the underground environment in a coordinate frame of reference of the underground environment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19)
-
-
12. An apparatus for producing a three-dimensional (3D) model of an underground environment, comprising:
-
a) a first range sensing device for acquiring 3D information of an underground environment; b) processing means for producing a 3D model of the underground environment from the acquired 3D information suitable for visualization, analysis or post-processing; and c) a second range sensing device for back-sighting to at least two existing survey stations located in the underground environment for locating the first and second range sensing devices in the underground environment, wherein said second range sensing device is in a fixed relationship with said first range sensing device and wherein said processing means includes means for transforming the 3D model of the underground environment to a map of the underground environment using the locations of the first and second range sensing devices. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
Specification