Integrated remote aerial sensing system
First Claim
1. An aerial positioning system comprising:
- a balloon;
a balloon positioning system coupled to the balloon and configured to position the balloon at a desired balloon elevation, a desired balloon latitude, and a desired balloon longitude, the balloon positioning system including a plurality of winches supported on the ground, and a plurality of tethers extending between the winches and the balloon;
a sensor system supported by the balloon, the sensor system includinga location system which determines a balloon elevation, a balloon latitude, and a balloon longitude,at least one sensor directed to a ground based region of interest, andat least one gimbal configured to orient the at least one sensor; and
a controller in communication with the balloon positioning system and the sensor system, wherein the at least one sensor provides to the controller a first set of data at a first time related to the region of interest, and a second set of data at a second time related to the region of interest, and the balloon positioning system positions the balloon at the desired balloon elevation, the desired balloon latitude, and the desired balloon longitude in response to input from the location system at both the first time and the second time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for high temporal and high spatial resolution monitoring of a field of plants is disclosed. Illustratively, the system includes a plurality of ground based reference objects, a balloon adapted to be positioned above the field of plants, and a balloon positioning system coupled to the balloon and configured to position the balloon relative to the field of plants. An imaging system is supported by the balloon and includes a locations system, at least one camera, and at least one gimbal configured to orient the at least one camera. The imaging system captures at least one image of the field of plants including the plurality of ground based reference objects in the at least one image.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An aerial positioning system comprising:
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a balloon; a balloon positioning system coupled to the balloon and configured to position the balloon at a desired balloon elevation, a desired balloon latitude, and a desired balloon longitude, the balloon positioning system including a plurality of winches supported on the ground, and a plurality of tethers extending between the winches and the balloon; a sensor system supported by the balloon, the sensor system including a location system which determines a balloon elevation, a balloon latitude, and a balloon longitude, at least one sensor directed to a ground based region of interest, and at least one gimbal configured to orient the at least one sensor; and a controller in communication with the balloon positioning system and the sensor system, wherein the at least one sensor provides to the controller a first set of data at a first time related to the region of interest, and a second set of data at a second time related to the region of interest, and the balloon positioning system positions the balloon at the desired balloon elevation, the desired balloon latitude, and the desired balloon longitude in response to input from the location system at both the first time and the second time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An aerial sensing system comprising:
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a plurality of ground based reference objects, each located at a known reference elevation, a known reference latitude, and a known reference longitude, wherein the plurality of ground based reference objects each include a position reference panel having a unique identifier; an aerial platform adapted to be positioned above a focus area including objects of interest; an aerial platform positioning system coupled to the aerial platform and configured to position the aerial platform at a desired aerial platform elevation, a desired aerial platform latitude, and a desired aerial platform longitude; an imaging system supported by the aerial platform, the imaging system including a location system which determines an aerial platform elevation, an aerial platform latitude, and an aerial platform longitude, at least one camera for obtaining an aerial image of the objects of interest, the unique identifier being visible to the imaging system to identify the position reference panel, at least one gimbal configured to orient the at least one camera, and a position sensor operably coupled to the at least one gimbal for detecting the orientation of the at least one camera, wherein the imaging system captures at least one image of the focus area including the plurality of objects of interest and the plurality of ground based reference objects in the at least one image; and a controller in communication with the aerial platform positioning system and the imaging system, wherein the controller includes a driving computer that controls the aerial platform positioning system in response to input from the location system, and an imaging computer that processes data from the at least one camera. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification