Method and device for detecting an overhead cable from an aerial vessel

A method for detecting an overhead cable from an aerial vessel, comprising:

• providing, from a camera arranged in said aerial vessel, a plurality of images of an area beneath said aerial vessel during motion of said aerial vessel, including providing, from said camera, a first and a second image at a first and a second point in time, respectively, while the aerial vessel is in motion between said first and second point in time;
• detecting lines in the first and second images;
• determining whether said lines represent lines at ground level or lines at a level above ground level;
• and
• determining whether a line at a level above ground level represents a possible overhead cable,
• wherein the step of determining whether said lines represent lines at ground level or lines at a level above ground level comprises:
• identifying pairs of lines belonging together, one, from said first image and one from said second image, respectively;
• identifying a background in each of said first and second images, associated with said pairs of lines;
• and
• determining if a particular line and background associated with said particular line have shifted more than a predetermined limit from said first to said second image, and, if so, determining if said particular line represents a line at a level above a ground level.