Method for directed antenna alignment through augmented reality
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for aligning antennae, comprising:
- a hardware platform includinga computing device comprised of a processor that performs operations and accesses data from other components of the hardware platform,a GPS receiver configured to determine a geographic location of a local antenna,a position sensing hardware component disposed at the local antenna to detect a pointing status of the local antenna, including an azimuth and elevation angle of the local antenna;
an imaging device that provides a live video image of local terrain in which said local antenna is situated, the imaging device aligned to provide the live video image along a boresight direction of the local antenna which coincides with a main lobe of the local antenna;
a video display device responsive to the computing device to display a graphical user interface overlaid on the live video image; and
a communication channel which facilitates data communication between the computing device, the GPS receiver, the imaging device, the video display device and the position sensing hardware component;
wherein the computing device is configured toreceive the pointing status of the local antenna determined by the position sensing hardware component under conditions in which the local antenna is not currently aligned with a target antenna, receive the geographic location of the local antenna determined by the GPS receiver, cause first information specifying the geographic location and the pointing status of the local antenna to be communicated to the target antenna via communications equipment other than the local and target antennas,access second information specifying a geographic location and pointing status of the target terminal, where the second information was communicated from the target antenna to the local antenna responsive to the first information and using the communications equipment other than the local and target antennas,determine a relative bearing and elevation to which the local antenna should be adjusted to become aligned with the target antenna based on the first and second information,use the first and second information to generate the graphical user interface, andcause the graphical user interface to be updated and displayed on the video display device, superimposed on the live video image; and
wherein the graphical user interface is comprised of a concurrent representation of a first graphical element comprised of a first radiation pattern of the local antenna, and a second graphical element comprised of a second radiation pattern of the target antenna, the concurrent representation graphically illustrating a relative alignment of a main lobe of the first radiation pattern with a main lobe of the second radiation pattern.
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Abstract
A system for aligning two ground-based antennae (100, 110) or a ground-based antenna (100) and a satellite antenna (110), for use in military and civilian settings, in which a visual display is generated showing a graphical representation of the antennae including graphical representations indicating both the axis of the main lobe (102) and the approximate radiation pattern (414) of the antennae, superimposed over a live imaging of the local terrain. The alignment is achieved when the graphical representations of the main axis and radiation patterns of the two antennae align with each other.
16 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for aligning antennae, comprising:
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a hardware platform including a computing device comprised of a processor that performs operations and accesses data from other components of the hardware platform, a GPS receiver configured to determine a geographic location of a local antenna, a position sensing hardware component disposed at the local antenna to detect a pointing status of the local antenna, including an azimuth and elevation angle of the local antenna; an imaging device that provides a live video image of local terrain in which said local antenna is situated, the imaging device aligned to provide the live video image along a boresight direction of the local antenna which coincides with a main lobe of the local antenna; a video display device responsive to the computing device to display a graphical user interface overlaid on the live video image; and a communication channel which facilitates data communication between the computing device, the GPS receiver, the imaging device, the video display device and the position sensing hardware component; wherein the computing device is configured to receive the pointing status of the local antenna determined by the position sensing hardware component under conditions in which the local antenna is not currently aligned with a target antenna, receive the geographic location of the local antenna determined by the GPS receiver, cause first information specifying the geographic location and the pointing status of the local antenna to be communicated to the target antenna via communications equipment other than the local and target antennas, access second information specifying a geographic location and pointing status of the target terminal, where the second information was communicated from the target antenna to the local antenna responsive to the first information and using the communications equipment other than the local and target antennas, determine a relative bearing and elevation to which the local antenna should be adjusted to become aligned with the target antenna based on the first and second information, use the first and second information to generate the graphical user interface, and cause the graphical user interface to be updated and displayed on the video display device, superimposed on the live video image; and wherein the graphical user interface is comprised of a concurrent representation of a first graphical element comprised of a first radiation pattern of the local antenna, and a second graphical element comprised of a second radiation pattern of the target antenna, the concurrent representation graphically illustrating a relative alignment of a main lobe of the first radiation pattern with a main lobe of the second radiation pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for aligning antennae, comprising:
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a computing device, a GPS receiver configured to determine a geographic location of a local antenna, a position sensing hardware component disposed at the local antenna to detect a pointing status of the local antenna, including an azimuth and elevation angle of the local antenna; an imaging device that provides a live video image of local terrain in which said local antenna is situated, the imaging device aligned to provide the live video image along a boresight direction of the local antenna; a video display device; and a communication channel which facilitates data communication between the computing device, the video display device, the GPS receiver, the imaging device, and the position sensing hardware component; wherein the computing device is configured to access first information comprising the pointing status provided by the position sensing hardware component and the geographic location of the local antenna determined by the GPS receiver, access second information concerning a geographic location and pointing status of a target antenna associated with a target terminal, use the first and second information to determine an updated relative bearing and elevation to which the local antenna should be adjusted to become aligned with the target antenna, use the updated relative bearing and elevation to update the information contained in a graphical user interface, and cause the graphical user interface to be superimposed on the live video image in the video display device; wherein the graphical user interface includes a first graphical element comprised of a first radiation pattern of the local antenna and a second graphical element comprised of a second radiation pattern of the target antenna, which graphically illustrate a relative alignment of a main lobe of the first radiation pattern with a main lobe of the second radiation pattern. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for aligning antennae, comprising:
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a computing device, a GPS receiver configured to determine a geographic location of a local antenna, a position sensing hardware component disposed at the local antenna to detect a pointing status of the local antenna, including an azimuth and elevation angle of the local antenna; an imaging device aligned to provide a live video image along a boresight direction of the local antenna; a video display device; and a communication channel which facilitates data communication between the computing device, the video display device, the GPS receiver, and the position sensing hardware component; wherein the computing device is configured to access first information comprising the pointing status provided by the position sensing hardware component and the geographic location of the local antenna determined by the GPS receiver, access second information concerning a geographic location of a target antenna associated with a target terminal, use the first and second information to determine an relative bearing and elevation to which the local antenna should be adjusted to become aligned with the target antenna; use the first and second information to generate a graphical user interface which includes a first graphical element comprised of a radiation pattern of the local antenna, and a second graphical element indicating a location of the target antenna; use the relative bearing and elevation to continually update the graphical user interface during an antenna alignment session to show relative positions of the first and second graphical elements in accordance with a relative alignment of the radiation pattern of the local antenna with the location of the target antenna, and cause the graphical user interface to be displayed in the video display device superimposed over the live video image; wherein the graphical user interface is comprised of the first graphical element and the second graphical element, which graphically illustrate a relative alignment of a main lobe of the radiation pattern of the local antenna with the target antenna. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for aligning antennae, comprising:
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a computing device, a GPS receiver configured to determine a geographic location of a local antenna, a position sensing hardware component disposed at the local antenna to detect a pointing status of the local antenna, including an azimuth and elevation angle of the local antenna; an imaging device that provides a live video image of local terrain in which said local antenna is situated, the imaging device aligned to provide the live video image along a boresight direction of the local antenna; a video display device; and a communication channel which facilitates data communication between the computing device, the video display device, the GPS receiver, and the position sensing hardware component; wherein the computing device is configured to access first information comprising the pointing status provided by the position sensing hardware component and the geographic location of the local antenna determined by the GPS receiver, access second information concerning a geographic location of a target antenna associated with a target terminal, use the first and second information to determine a relative bearing and elevation to which the local antenna should be adjusted to become aligned with the target antenna, use the relative bearing and elevation to update the information contained in a graphical user interface, and cause the graphical user interface to be displayed in the video display device; wherein the graphical user interface includes a first graphical element comprised of a radiation pattern of the local antenna, and a second graphical element indicating a location of the target antenna, and wherein the computing device is responsive to a change in the pointing status to update the display of the first and second graphical elements, whereby the graphical user interface graphically illustrates a relative alignment of a main lobe of the radiation pattern of the local antenna with the target antenna as the pointing status of the local antenna is adjusted; and wherein the computing device is configured to cause the graphical user interface to be superimposed on the live video image in the video display device.
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Specification