System and method for detecting and analyzing features in an agricultural field for vehicle guidance
First Claim
1. An apparatus for using data from a 3-dimensional field scene map to aid in the navigation of a vehicle, comprising:
- at least one camera for producing a pair of images of a field scene;
means for creating a disparity image from the pair of images and analyzing features within the disparity image, wherein the creating comprises determining at least one of a camera to ground distance and a camera tilt angle; and
means for operatively connecting the creating means to a navigation system of a vehicle, wherein information gathered from the at least one camera is transmitted to the navigation system for use in guiding the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for creating 3-dimensional agricultural field scene maps are disclosed comprising producing a pair of images using a stereo camera and creating a disparity image based on the pair of images, the disparity image being a 3-dimensional representation of the stereo images. Coordinate arrays can be produced from the disparity image and the coordinate arrays can be used to render a 3-dimensional local map of the agricultural field scene. Global maps can also be made by using geographic location information associated with various local maps to fuse together multiple local maps into a 3-dimensional global representation of the field scene. The disparity images can be used to analyze a variety of agricultural features.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. An apparatus for using data from a 3-dimensional field scene map to aid in the navigation of a vehicle, comprising:
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at least one camera for producing a pair of images of a field scene; means for creating a disparity image from the pair of images and analyzing features within the disparity image, wherein the creating comprises determining at least one of a camera to ground distance and a camera tilt angle; and means for operatively connecting the creating means to a navigation system of a vehicle, wherein information gathered from the at least one camera is transmitted to the navigation system for use in guiding the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method guiding a vehicle by making and analyzing a 3-dimensional map of a field scene, the method comprising the steps of:
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acquiring a set of images of the field scene using one or more cameras; creating a disparity image based on the at least one set of images, wherein; the disparity image including depth information for objects captured in the at least one set of images; and the creating comprises determining at least one of a camera to ground distance and a camera tilt angle; analyzing the disparity image to generate information concerning at least one feature captured in the at least one set of images; transmitting the information to navigation system of a vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A system for creating and analyzing a 3-dimensional agricultural field scene map, comprising:
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a stereo camera for producing a pair of stereo images of an agricultural field scene; means for creating a disparity image from the pair of stereo images and analyzing features in the disparity image;
wherein;the disparity image including a three-dimensional image encoded with x, y and z coordinates relative to the stereo camera; and the creating comprises determining at least one of a camera to ground distance and a camera tilt angle; and means for providing information gathered from the disparity image to a vehicle navigation system for use in guiding the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification