Aerial photograph image pickup method and aerial photograph image pickup apparatus

• US 9,013,576 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2012
• Issued: 04/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Inventors: Ohtomo, Fumio, Osaragi, Kazuki, Anai, Tetsuji, Otani, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): ELAHI, SHAN E
• Application Number:
  US13/473,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20120300070A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,069 Days
• Field of Search: 348/144
• US Class Current: 348/144
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 11/02 Picture taking arrangements specially adapted for photogrammetry or photographic surveying, e.g. controlling overlapping of pictures
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/006 Apparatus mounted on flying objects
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 35/02 by sequential recording
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/02 with scanning movement of lens or cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target

Abstract

An aerial photographing image pickup method comprises a step of making a flying object fly meanderingly, a step of taking the image at each vertex where a direction is changed in the meandering flight, a step of extracting feature points from a common overlay portion of the images taken from at least three adjacent vertices, a step of determining two images of two vertices in the images as one set and acquiring positional information of the two vertices by a GPS device for each set regarding at least two sets, a step of performing photogrammetry of the measuring points corresponding to the feature points based on positional information and based on the feature points of the two images and a step of determining the feature points when the surveying results of the measuring points coincide with each other in at least the two sets as tie points for image combination.

Claims

1. An aerial photograph image pickup method comprising:

making a flying object fly meanderingly, wherein said flying object comprises a GPS device and an image pickup device for taking an image downward,

taking the image at each vertex where a direction is changed in the meandering flight,

acquiring a three-dimensional coordinate of each vertex by said GPS device,

extracting feature points from a common overlap portion of three images taken from at least three vertexes adjacent to each other,

performing triplet matching with respect to said three images based on said three-dimensional coordinates and said feature points,

performing photogrammetry of measuring points corresponding to said feature points based on said three-dimensional coordinates acquired at two vertexes by said GPS device by determining two images of two vertexes in said images as one set for each set regarding at least two sets and based on said feature points of said two images, and

determining said feature points when the surveying results of said measuring points coincide with each other in at least said two sets as tie points for image combination.

2. The aerial photograph image pickup method according to claim 1, wherein said feature points are extracted from an image taken at one vertex and the image tracking is performed in said feature points and said feature points are specified in an image taken at an next vertex.

3. The aerial photograph image pickup method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, based on said tie points and the three-dimensional coordinates of said three vertexes measured by said GPS device, a local processing of a calculation of photographing positions of said images taken at said three vertexes and an orientation calculation of tilting are carried out.

4. An aerial photograph image pickup apparatus comprising a flying object, and a GPS device, navigating means, an image pickup device for taking an image below said flying object, an image processing unit, and a main arithmetic control unit which are provided in said flying object, wherein said main arithmetic control unit has flight plan data for flying said flying object meanderingly, prepares flight guidance data based on positional information from said GPS device and said flight plan data, controls said navigating means based on said flight guidance data, and makes said flying object fly meanderingly and said image pickup device takes the image at each vertex where a direction is changed in the meandering flight, and said image processing unit extracts feature points from a common overlap portion of three images taken from at least three vertexes adjacent to each other, performs triplet matching with respect to said three images based on said feature points and based on said positional information of three vertexes acquired by said GPS device, and said main arithmetic control unit determines two images adjacent to each other as one set, performs the photogrammetry for each set regarding at least two sets based on said feature points and said positional information, determines said feature points as tie points when at least two surveying results coincide with each other, and carries out an orientation calculation of said images based on said tie points and the positional information of said three vertexes.