US 10,482,668 B2 · Miniature vision-inertial navigation system with extended dynamic range

Abstract

A system and method for tracking positions of objects in an actual scene in a wide range of lighting conditions. A vision-inertial navigation system is provided that may be configured to track relative positions of objects of interest in lighting conditions ranging from, e.g., typical indoor lighting conditions to direct sunlight to caves with virtually with no light. The navigation system may include two or more helmet-mounted cameras each configured to capture images of the actual scene in a different lighting condition. A remote processing element may combine data from the two or more helmet-mounted cameras with data from a helmet-mounted inertial sensor to estimate the position (e.g., 3D location) of the objects. The navigation system may display the estimated position for each object on a transparent display device such that, from a user's perspective, the estimated position for each object is superimposed onto the corresponding object and/or other information relating to the user's and/or object's position is displayed.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method for vision-inertial navigation, comprising:

receiving image data from each of a first sunlight imaging apparatus for capturing images in a first range of lighting conditions, a first indoor lighting imaging apparatus for capturing images in a second range of lighting conditions, and a first night vision imaging apparatus for capturing images in a third range of lighting conditions of a first navigation subsystem, wherein the image data captures visual features of an environment, and wherein the first range of lighting conditions, the second range of lighting conditions, and the third range of lighting conditions are different from one another;
receiving first inertial measurement data from a first inertial sensor (IMU) of the first navigation subsystem;
tracking positions of the visual features based on the image data received from the first sunlight imaging apparatus, the first indoor lighting imaging apparatus, and the first night vision imaging apparatus and the first inertial measurement data received from the first IMU;
assembling a plurality of the tracking positions into representative positional visual image information;
and
displaying the representative positional visual image information.

3 more elements

A vision-inertial navigation system, comprising:

a first navigation subsystem including:
a first sunlight imaging apparatus for capturing images in a first range of lighting conditions, a first indoor lighting imaging apparatus for capturing images in a second range of lighting conditions, and a first night vision apparatus for obtaining image data for capturing images in a third range of lighting conditions, wherein the image data captures visual features of an environment, and wherein the first range of lighting conditions, the second range of lighting conditions, and the third range of lighting conditions are different from one another, and
a first inertial measurement unit (IMU) for obtaining inertial measurement data associated with the first navigation subsystem;
a memory configured to store instructions;
and
a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the first navigation subsystem, the processor being configured to execute the instructions to:
receive the image data from the first sunlight imaging apparatus, the first indoor lighting imaging apparatus, or the first night vision imaging apparatus;
receive the inertial measurement data from the first IMU;
track positions of the visual features based the image data received from the first sunlight imaging apparatus, the first indoor lighting imaging apparatus, and the first night vision imaging apparatus and the inertial measurement data received from the first IMU;
assemble a plurality of the tracking positions into representative positional visual image information;
and
display the representative positional visual image information.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Miniature vision-inertial navigation system with extended dynamic range

Life of this patent

Miniature vision-inertial navigation system with extended dynamic range

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20