Virtual white lines for delimiting planned excavation sites
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method, comprising:
- sending a digital aerial image to a user via a network;
receiving a marked-up version of the digital aerial image from the user via the network that includes one or more environmental landmarks or virtual white lines sketched on the digital aerial image in advance of excavation activities and at a first user location remote from a dig area to delimit the dig area in which the excavation activities are planned, wherein sketching the environmental landmarks or the virtual white lines on the digital aerial image is performed without acquiring geographic coordinates to delimit the dig area; and
providing the marked-up version of the digital aerial image including the environmental landmarks or the virtual white lines sketched on the digital aerial image in advance of the excavation activities and at the first user location remote from the dig area to delimit the dig area in which the excavation activities are planned, via one of an electronic or tangible delivery system, to another entity.
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Abstract
A method may include sending an aerial image to a user via a network; receiving a marked-up version of the aerial image from the user via the network that includes one or more virtual white lines added to the aerial image that delimit a dig area in which excavation is planned; and providing the marked-up version of the aerial image, via one of an electronic or tangible delivery system, to another entity.
270 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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sending a digital aerial image to a user via a network; receiving a marked-up version of the digital aerial image from the user via the network that includes one or more environmental landmarks or virtual white lines sketched on the digital aerial image in advance of excavation activities and at a first user location remote from a dig area to delimit the dig area in which the excavation activities are planned, wherein sketching the environmental landmarks or the virtual white lines on the digital aerial image is performed without acquiring geographic coordinates to delimit the dig area; and providing the marked-up version of the digital aerial image including the environmental landmarks or the virtual white lines sketched on the digital aerial image in advance of the excavation activities and at the first user location remote from the dig area to delimit the dig area in which the excavation activities are planned, via one of an electronic or tangible delivery system, to another entity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions for controlling at least one processor to perform a method, the method comprising:
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obtaining a digital aerial image; receiving user input specifying a location on the digital aerial image where excavation is planned, wherein the user input comprises sketching environmental landmarks or virtual white lines on the digital aerial image in advance of excavation activities and at a first user location remote from a dig area, wherein sketching the environmental landmarks or the virtual white lines on the digital aerial image is performed without acquiring geographic coordinates to delimit the dig area; visually rendering the environmental landmarks or the virtual white lines on the digital aerial image based on the user input, where the virtual white lines delimit a location where the excavation is planned, in order to produce a marked-up digital image; receiving data that describes details of the planned excavation; and sending the marked-up digital image including the environmental landmarks or the virtual white lines sketched on the digital aerial image in advance of the excavation activities and at the first user location remote from the dig area to delimit the dig area in which the excavation activities are planned and the data that describes details of the planned excavation to a server across a network. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A server, comprising:
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a communication interface coupled to a network; and a processing unit configured to; cause the communication interface to send a digital aerial image to a user via the network, receive a marked-up version of the digital aerial image from the user via the communication interface that includes one or more environmental landmarks or virtual white lines sketched on the digital aerial image in advance of excavation activities and at a first user location remote from a dig area to delimit the dig area, wherein sketching the environmental landmarks or the virtual white lines on the digital aerial image is performed without acquiring geographic coordinates to delimit the dig area, and cause the marked-up version of the digital aerial image including the environmental landmarks or the virtual white lines sketched on the digital aerial image in advance of the excavation activities and at the first user location remote from the dig area to delimit the dig area to be provided, via one of an electronic or tangible delivery system, to another entity. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method, comprising:
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providing a dig area marking tool application to a computing device at a client via a network; receiving a digital aerial image from the client that has been marked up, using the dig area marking tool application, by sketching environmental landmarks or virtual white lines on the digital aerial image in advance of excavation activities and at a first user location remote from a dig area to delimit the dig area on the digital aerial image, wherein sketching the environmental landmarks or the virtual white lines on the digital aerial image is performed without acquiring geographic coordinates to delimit the dig area; and providing the marked-up digital aerial image including the environmental landmarks or the virtual white lines sketched on the digital aerial image in advance of the excavation activities and at the first user location remote from the dig area to delimit the dig area via an electronic or tangible delivery system to an entity. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A system comprising:
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means for sending a digital aerial image to a user upon request of the user; means for receiving a marked-up version of the digital aerial image from the user that includes an environmental landmark or a virtual white line sketched on the digital aerial image in advance of excavation activities and at a first user location remote from a dig area, where the environmental landmark or the virtual white line delimits a boundary of dig area, wherein sketching the environmental landmark or the virtual white line on the digital aerial image is performed without acquiring geographic coordinates to delimit the dig area; means for converting the virtual white line to latitude/longitude coordinates or geo-positioning coordinates; and means for providing the marked-up version of the digital aerial image including the environmental landmark or the virtual white line sketched on the digital aerial image in advance of the excavation activities and at the first user location remote from the dig area to delimit the dig area in which the excavation activities are planned and the latitude/longitude coordinates or geo-positioning coordinates to an entity.
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Specification