Methods and apparatus for performing angular measurements
First Claim
1. A method of determining an azimuth and an elevation of a point visible in a first image, the azimuth and the elevation of the point determined in a real world coordinate system, the method comprising:
- positioning an imaging device at a first position;
acquiring the first image at the first position, the first image including the point;
thereafterperforming a first rotation of the imaging device;
acquiring a second image at the first position, the second image acquired after performing the first rotation, wherein a portion of the first image overlaps a portion of the second image;
determining correspondences between features in overlapping portions of the first image and the second image;
determining a first transformation between coordinates of the first image and coordinates of the second image based on the correspondences;
determining a second transformation between the coordinates of the second image and the real world coordinate system; and
computing the azimuth and the elevation of the point in the real world coordinate system based on the first transformation and the second transformation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of determining an azimuth and elevation of a point in an image is provided. The method comprises positioning an imaging device at a first position and acquiring a first image. The method also comprises rotating the imaging device and acquiring a second image at the first position. The first image includes the point, and a portion of the first image overlaps a portion of the second image. The method also includes determining correspondences between features in overlapping portions of the images, determining a first transformation between coordinates of the first image and coordinates of the second image based on the correspondences, and determining a second transformation between the coordinates of the second image and a local coordinate frame. The method also includes computing the azimuth and elevation of the point based on the first transformation and the second transformation.
31 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of determining an azimuth and an elevation of a point visible in a first image, the azimuth and the elevation of the point determined in a real world coordinate system, the method comprising:
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positioning an imaging device at a first position; acquiring the first image at the first position, the first image including the point;
thereafterperforming a first rotation of the imaging device; acquiring a second image at the first position, the second image acquired after performing the first rotation, wherein a portion of the first image overlaps a portion of the second image; determining correspondences between features in overlapping portions of the first image and the second image; determining a first transformation between coordinates of the first image and coordinates of the second image based on the correspondences; determining a second transformation between the coordinates of the second image and the real world coordinate system; and computing the azimuth and the elevation of the point in the real world coordinate system based on the first transformation and the second transformation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of determining a horizontal angle and a vertical angle between a first point visible in a first image and a second point visible in a second image, the method comprising:
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obtaining a series of images including the first image and the second image using an imaging device, wherein a portion of each image in the series overlaps a portion of another image in the series and wherein each image in the series is obtained from a first position by rotating the imaging device without substantially changing an optical center of the imaging device; determining correspondences between features in overlapping portions of images in the series of images; determining first transformations between coordinates of overlapping images in the series of images; and computing the horizontal angle and the vertical angle between the first point and the second point based on the first transformations. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A surveying apparatus comprising:
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a support structure; a rotatable member mechanically coupled to the support structure; an imaging device mechanically coupled to the rotatable member, wherein the rotatable member is configured to rotate the imaging device without substantially changing a position of an optical center of the imaging device; an image sensor disposed in the imaging device, the image sensor configured to acquire images; a memory in electrical communication with the image sensor, the memory configured to store the images; and a processor in electrical communication with the image sensor and the memory, the processor configured to; determine correspondences between features in overlapping portions of the images; determine first transformations between coordinates of overlapping images based on the correspondences; determine a second transformation between coordinates of one of the images and a real world coordinate system; and compute an azimuth and an elevation of each of a plurality of points visible in the images, the azimuth and the elevation computed in the real world coordinate system based on the first transformations and the second transformation. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of registering a series of overlapping images acquired from a first position in a real world coordinate system, the method comprising:
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determining correspondences between features in overlapping portions of images in the series; determining first transformations between coordinates of overlapping images in the series, the first transformations determined based on the correspondences; and determining a second transformation between coordinates of an image in the series and the real world coordinate system.
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Specification