Range data compression
AssigneeLeica Geosystems AG
InventorGregory Charles Walsh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A laser imaging, detection, and ranging (LIDAR) system may include a scanner and a compression module. The scanner may be configured to generate a scan including multiple range values associated with multiple scan points of the scan. The compression module may be configured to map multiple range values to multiple integers. The multiple integers may represent multiple range intervals. The multiple range intervals may include multiple differently sized range intervals. The size of the range intervals may be a function of range according to an interval size function.
Claims20
A laser imaging, detection, and ranging (LIDAR) system comprising:
- a scanner configured to generate a scan including a plurality of scan points and a plurality of range values, each range value of the plurality of range values associated with a different scan point of the plurality of scan points;
- and
- a compression module configured to map each range value of the plurality of range values to an integer of a plurality of integers, the plurality of integers representing a plurality of range intervals associated with the range values of the plurality of range values of the scan,
- wherein the plurality of range intervals include a plurality of differently sized range intervals, and wherein the size of the range intervals of the plurality of range intervals is a function of range according to an interval size function.
A method of compressing scan data, the method comprising:
- generating, at a laser imaging, detection, and ranging (LIDAR) system, a scan including a plurality of scan points and a plurality of range values, each range value of the plurality of range values associated with a different scan point of the plurality of scan points;
- and
- mapping, at the LIDAR system, each range value of the plurality of range values to an integer of a plurality of integers representing a plurality of differently sized range intervals associated with the range values of the plurality of range values of the scan,
- wherein the size of the range intervals of the plurality of differently sized range intervals is a function of range according to an interval size function.
A terrestrial laser imaging, detection, and ranging (LIDAR) comprising:
- a scanning device configured to generate a scan including a plurality of scan points and a plurality of range values, each range value of the plurality of range values associated with a different scan point of the plurality of scan points;
- and
- a compression module configured to map each range value of the plurality of range values to an integer of a plurality of integers, the plurality of integers representing a plurality of range intervals associated with the range values of the plurality of range values of the scan,
- wherein the plurality of range intervals include a plurality of differently sized range intervals,
- wherein the size of the range intervals of the plurality of range intervals is a function of range according to an interval size function defined for a plurality of regions of ranges and integers, the interval size function defining:
- a constant interval size region associated with a first region of ranges, and
- a linear region associated with a second region of ranges, and
- wherein the size of the range intervals of the first region of ranges is based at least in part on range-independent uncertainty associated with the scanning device and the size of the range intervals of the second region of ranges is based at least in part on range-dependent uncertainty associated with the scanning device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.