Systems and methods for autonomous imaging and structural analysis
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) assessment system for imaging a structure and determining a pitch of a roof of a structure, comprising:
- a site selection user interface to receive an electronic input from a user identifying a geographic location of a structure based on at least one of a street address, a coordinate, and a satellite image;
a UAV to receive the geographic location of the structure from the site selection interface, the UAV comprising;
a camera to capture images of the structure;
a pitch determination system to determine a pitch of a planar surface of the roof that is at an angle relative to a downward direction based on at least two distance measurements; and
an imaging system to;
adjust a tilt angle of the camera of the UAV to a non-zero angle relative to a downward direction to align an optical axis of the camera perpendicular to the planar surface of the roof of the structure, andcapture an image of at least a portion of the roof of the structure with the optical axis of the camera aligned perpendicular to the planar surface at each of the plurality of locations by adjusting a tilt angle of the camera of the UAV based on the determined pitch of the planar surface of the roof.
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Abstract
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) assessment and reporting system may utilize one or more scanning techniques to provide useful assessments and/or reports for structures and other objects. The scanning techniques may be performed in sequence and optionally used to further fine tune each subsequent scan. The system may include shadow elimination, annotation, and/or reduction for the UAV itself and/or other objects. A UAV may be used to determine a pitch of roof of a structure. The pitch of the roof may be used to fine tune subsequent scanning and data capture.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) assessment system for imaging a structure and determining a pitch of a roof of a structure, comprising:
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a site selection user interface to receive an electronic input from a user identifying a geographic location of a structure based on at least one of a street address, a coordinate, and a satellite image; a UAV to receive the geographic location of the structure from the site selection interface, the UAV comprising; a camera to capture images of the structure; a pitch determination system to determine a pitch of a planar surface of the roof that is at an angle relative to a downward direction based on at least two distance measurements; and an imaging system to; adjust a tilt angle of the camera of the UAV to a non-zero angle relative to a downward direction to align an optical axis of the camera perpendicular to the planar surface of the roof of the structure, and capture an image of at least a portion of the roof of the structure with the optical axis of the camera aligned perpendicular to the planar surface at each of the plurality of locations by adjusting a tilt angle of the camera of the UAV based on the determined pitch of the planar surface of the roof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for imaging a roof of a structure, comprising:
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a camera to capture images of the structure; a pitch determination system to determine a pitch of a planar surface of the roof that is at an angle relative to a downward direction in real time during a flight based on at least two distance measurements; and an imaging system to capture an image of at least a portion of the roof of the structure during the same flight with an optical axis of the camera aligned perpendicular to the planar surface of the roof of the structure by adjusting a tilt angle of the camera of the UAV based on the determined pitch of the planar surface of the roof. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for determining a pitch of a roof and imaging the same, comprising:
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receiving, via a communications network, a relative location of a structure provided by a site selection user interface; transmitting to a UAV the relative location of the structure as provided by the site selection user interface; calculating, via a pitch determination system, a pitch of a planar surface of a roof of the structure during a flight of the UAV proximate the structure; and capturing a plurality of images of at least a portion of the roof of the structure using an imaging system, including; at least a first image with an optical axis of a camera aligned perpendicular to the planar surface of the roof of the structure by adjusting a tilt angle of the camera of the UAV, based on the calculated pitch of the planar surface of the roof; and at least a second image with the optical axis of a camera misaligned with respect to the planar surface of the roof of the structure, wherein the first image does not need de-skewing in at least one direction and the second image can be de-skewed in at least one direction using the calculated pitch of the planar surface of the roof.
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Specification