METHOD OF OBTAINING GEOGRAPHICALLY RELATED IMAGES USING A VEHICLE
First Claim
1. A method of obtaining digital images related to geographic locations, the method comprising:
- providing a moving vehicle having thereon a computer having a computer clock interconnected with a GPS transceiver and distance measurement structure configured to measure a distance traveled by the vehicle from a first geographic position, the computer operatively interconnected with a digital camera having a camera clock mounted on the vehicle;
receiving into the computer the first geographic position from the GPS transceiver;
receiving into the computer a measurement of the distance traveled by the vehicle relative to the first geographic position from the distance measurement structure;
selecting a pre-determined distance based on a distance between a subject of a photo to be acquired and the camera;
determining when the pre-determined distance has been traveled by the vehicle based on the measurement of distance;
generating a photo request using the computer on the vehicle for the digital camera on the vehicle at the pre-determined distance, the photo request having an associated photo request time comprising a computer time value obtained from the computer clock, the photo request resulting in a shutter release by the digital camera;
taking a digital photo using the camera on the vehicle based on the shutter release, the digital photo having an associated photo time comprising a camera time value obtained from the camera clock;
repeating the steps of receiving into the computer the measurement of distance traveled by the vehicle, determining when the pre-determined distance has been traveled, generating a photo request using the computer resulting in a shutter release by the digital camera and taking a digital photo using the camera on the vehicle based on the shutter release;
receiving into the computer a second geographic position from the GPS transceiver;
storing the photos, associated photo times, photo requests, associated photo request times, first and second geographic positions and distance measurements;
conducting a processing step comprising;
associating each photo with the photo request used to generate that photo by comparing camera time values of a plurality of photos with computer time values of a plurality of photo requests;
determining a computer time value associated with each photo based on the computer time value of the photo request; and
,obtaining a location of each photo based on the computer time value of the photo.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
The method employs a computer interconnected with a GPS transceiver and a distance measurement means and operatively interconnected with a digital camera, all provided on a moving vehicle, in order to acquire a plurality of geographic location related images. A first geographic position is obtained from the GPS transceiver and a plurality of distance measurements are then received before a second geographic position is taken. A photo request is generated after a pre-determined distance has been traveled, as determined by the distance measurement means, and transmitted to the digital camera. The camera takes a photo based on the request and the photos, photo requests, first and second positions and distance measurements are stored for post-processing. The post-processing determines a path traveled by the vehicle using the positions and distance measurements in order to determine an accurate geographic location and orientation for each photo. The method is particularly suitable for use in building a database of geographically related images.
0 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of obtaining digital images related to geographic locations, the method comprising:
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providing a moving vehicle having thereon a computer having a computer clock interconnected with a GPS transceiver and distance measurement structure configured to measure a distance traveled by the vehicle from a first geographic position, the computer operatively interconnected with a digital camera having a camera clock mounted on the vehicle; receiving into the computer the first geographic position from the GPS transceiver; receiving into the computer a measurement of the distance traveled by the vehicle relative to the first geographic position from the distance measurement structure; selecting a pre-determined distance based on a distance between a subject of a photo to be acquired and the camera; determining when the pre-determined distance has been traveled by the vehicle based on the measurement of distance; generating a photo request using the computer on the vehicle for the digital camera on the vehicle at the pre-determined distance, the photo request having an associated photo request time comprising a computer time value obtained from the computer clock, the photo request resulting in a shutter release by the digital camera; taking a digital photo using the camera on the vehicle based on the shutter release, the digital photo having an associated photo time comprising a camera time value obtained from the camera clock; repeating the steps of receiving into the computer the measurement of distance traveled by the vehicle, determining when the pre-determined distance has been traveled, generating a photo request using the computer resulting in a shutter release by the digital camera and taking a digital photo using the camera on the vehicle based on the shutter release; receiving into the computer a second geographic position from the GPS transceiver; storing the photos, associated photo times, photo requests, associated photo request times, first and second geographic positions and distance measurements; conducting a processing step comprising; associating each photo with the photo request used to generate that photo by comparing camera time values of a plurality of photos with computer time values of a plurality of photo requests; determining a computer time value associated with each photo based on the computer time value of the photo request; and
,obtaining a location of each photo based on the computer time value of the photo. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification