Lines-of-sight and viewsheds determination system
First Claim
1. A computer software product for processing a three-dimensional scene, and determining and displaying lines-of-sight (LOS) and viewsheds in the scene, the product comprising a physical computer-readable medium including stored instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
- i) assign at a user-selected location at least one viewpoint in the scene;
ii) apply ray tracing from locations in the scene to the viewpoint to determine locations in the scene that are in a line of sight (LOS) and outside the LOS of the viewpoint and thereby determining the viewshed relative to the viewpoint;
iii) color-code the scene whereby the color coding differentially indicates the locations in the line of sight (LOS) and outside the LOS of the viewpoint, thereby displaying a color-coded viewshed relative to the viewpoint, andiv) operate a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes a user-selected color-coding scheme for display of safe headroom contours by coloring surfaces that have a near line of sight to an observer or multiple observers when rays are originated from points above said surfaces while differentially-coloring surfaces that are not in the direct line of sight whereby the safe headroom contours reveal whether people positioned on said surfaces can be seen by an observer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for processing three-dimensional data that defines a three-dimensional scene, and determining and displaying lines-of-sight (LOS) and viewsheds on all visible surfaces of the scene, includes: i) assigning at a user-selected location at least one viewpoint in the scene; ii) applying ray tracing from locations in the scene to the viewpoint to determine locations in the scene that are in a line of sight (LOS) and outside the LOS of the viewpoint, thus determining the viewshed relative to the viewpoint; and iii) color-coding every visible surface in the scene. The color coding then differentially indicates the locations in the line of sight (LOS) and outside the LOS of the viewpoint, producing a display of a color-coded viewshed relative to the viewpoint. Additionally ray tracing can be applied from locations above the scene to determine headroom contours for those locations in the scene.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A computer software product for processing a three-dimensional scene, and determining and displaying lines-of-sight (LOS) and viewsheds in the scene, the product comprising a physical computer-readable medium including stored instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
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i) assign at a user-selected location at least one viewpoint in the scene; ii) apply ray tracing from locations in the scene to the viewpoint to determine locations in the scene that are in a line of sight (LOS) and outside the LOS of the viewpoint and thereby determining the viewshed relative to the viewpoint; iii) color-code the scene whereby the color coding differentially indicates the locations in the line of sight (LOS) and outside the LOS of the viewpoint, thereby displaying a color-coded viewshed relative to the viewpoint, and iv) operate a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes a user-selected color-coding scheme for display of safe headroom contours by coloring surfaces that have a near line of sight to an observer or multiple observers when rays are originated from points above said surfaces while differentially-coloring surfaces that are not in the direct line of sight whereby the safe headroom contours reveal whether people positioned on said surfaces can be seen by an observer. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A system for acquiring three-dimensional data that defines a three-dimensional scene, and determining and displaying lines-of-sight (LOS) and viewsheds on all visible surfaces of the scene, comprising:
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means for acquiring the three-dimensional data that includes data defining at least one elevation field of the scene with three-dimensional (3D) features within the scene; a processor for receiving the elevation field data comprising a machine-readable storage media including stored instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to; i) assign at a user-selected location at least one viewpoint in the scene; ii) apply ray tracing from locations in the scene to the viewpoint to determine locations in the scene that are in a line of sight (LOS) and outside the LOS of the viewpoint and thereby determining the viewshed relative to the viewpoint; iii) color-code the scene whereby the color coding differentially indicates the locations in the line of sight (LOS) and outside the LOS of the viewpoint, thereby displaying a color-coded viewshed relative to the viewpoint; and iv) operate a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes a user-selected color-coding scheme for a display of safe headroom contours by coloring surfaces that have a near line of sight to an observer or multiple observers when rays are originated from points above said surfaces while differentially-coloring surfaces that are not in the direct line of sight whereby the safe headroom contours reveal whether people positioned on said surfaces can be seen by an observer; and a monitor for displaying the color-coded viewshed and scene, whereby a decision based on the color-coded viewshed may be made and implemented in a desired application. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification