Image capturing

• US 9,571,733 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2012
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BAE Systems Plc
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Plc
• Inventors: Finn, Harry John, Tebay, Andrew Christopher, Parker, David Robert, Stockton, Simon Graham
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Peter D
• Application Number:
  US13/985,015
• Publication Number:
  US 20130321635A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,834 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 37/04 with cameras or projectors providing touching or overlapping fields of view
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

A camera array and method are disclosed for capturing and processing images of an area of terrain. For each of a plurality of time-steps within a time period, using each of a plurality of cameras in a camera array, an exemplary method includes: generating an image of a respective portion of terrain, wherein the cameras in the camera array have substantially fixed positions relative to each other, and the portions of terrain are such that the whole of the area of terrain has been imaged by the end of the time period; selecting a subset of the images such that the whole of the terrain is covered by the portions of the terrain in the images in the subset; and for an image not in the subset, if an object of interest is in that image, extracting a sub-image containing the object from that image.

Claims

1. A method of capturing and processing images of an area of terrain, the method comprising:

for each of a plurality of time-steps within a time period, using each of a plurality of modular cameras in a camera array, simultaneously generating an image Of a respective portion of terrain, wherein the modular cameras in the camera array have substantially fixed positions relative to each other, and the portions of terrain are such that a whole of an area of terrain has been imaged by an end of the time period;

processing all images from the modular cameras to identify an object of interest in those images;

from each image in which the object of interest has been identified, extracting a sub-image containing that object of interest that has not previously been stored;

selecting a subset of all images, the subset images being the minimum number of images that provides that the whole area of the terrain is covered by the portions of the terrain in the subset images alone;

whereby the whole area of the terrain is oversampled, having intermediate images generated between the subset images; and

wherein all images equals the subset images plus the intermediate images.

2. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

storing the extracted sub-images.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the modular cameras in the array is coupled to a respective storage means within the modular camera, the method comprising:

storing an image or sub-image at the storage means corresponding to the modular camera with which the image or sub-image was generated.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein each modular camera in the camera array is coupled to a respective processor within the modular camera, and the extracting of a sub-image from an image comprises:

using the processor corresponding to the modular camera with which the image was generated.

5. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

transmitting the selected images from the camera array for use by an entity remote from the camera array.

6. The method according to claim 2, comprising:

transmitting the sub-images comprising an object of interest video from the camera array for use by an entity remote from the camera array.

7. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

using a further camera for generating one or more further images of the object of interest.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the camera array is mounted on a vehicle.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the further camera is a gimballed camera that is movable relative to the cameras of the array.

11. The method according to claim 8, comprising:

providing the further camera relative to the modular cameras of the camera array;

wherein

the further camera is part of a camera assembly mounted on the vehicle; and

the camera assembly comprises;

a fixture;

the further camera; and

a mirror;

wherein

the fixture is arranged to be rotated about an axis;

the further camera is mounted on the fixture such that the further camera has a substantially fixed position relative to the fixture; and

the mirror is mounted on the fixture such that, when the fixture rotates, the mirror rotates;

the method comprising;

rotating the mirror relative to the fixture about a further axis, the further axis being substantially perpendicular to the axis; and

detect detecting electromagnetic radiation reflected by the mirror with the further camera.

14. The method of claim 1 is performed by a program or plurality of programs stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, arranged for execution by a computer system or one or more processors such that upon execution they cause the computer system or the one or more processors to operate.

15. The program or at least one of the plurality of programs according to claim 14 is stored in a machine readable non-transitory storage medium.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the camera array is mounted on a vehicle.

17. The method according to claim 2, wherein each modular camera in the array is coupled to a respective storage means within the modular camera, the method comprising:

storing only an image or sub-image at the storage means corresponding to the modular camera with which the image or sub-image was generated.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein each modular camera in the array is coupled to a respective processor within the modular camera, and the extracting of a sub-image from an image comprises:

using the processor corresponding to the modular camera with which the image was generated.

19. The method according to claim 18, comprising:

transmitting the selected images from the camera array for use by an entity remote from the camera array.

20. The method according to claim 19, comprising:

transmitting the sub-images from the camera array for use by an entity remote from the camera array.

12. A camera array, comprising:

a plurality of modular cameras having substantially fixed positions relative to each other, each modular camera being arranged to, for each of a plurality of time-steps within a time period, simultaneously generate an image of a respective portion of terrain, wherein the portions of terrain are such that a whole of a given area of terrain has been imaged by an end of the time period; and

one or more processors configured to;

process all images to identify an object of interest in those images;

from each image in which the object of interest has been identified, extract a sub-image containing that object of interest that has not previously been stored;

select a subset of all images, the subset images being the minimum number of images that provides that the whole area of terrain will be covered by the portions of the terrain in the subset images alone whereby the whole area of the terrain is oversampled, having intermediate images generated between the subset images; and

wherein all images equals the subset images plus the intermediate images.

13. The camera array according to claim 12 is mounted on a vehicle.