# US 10,771,690 B2 · Distributed aperture systems for obstacle avoidance > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,771,690 B2 - Document ID: US10771690B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/893,624 - Filed: 2018-02-10 - Published: 2019-08-15 - Granted: 2020-09-08 - Earliest claimed: 2018-02-10 - Assignees: Goodrich Corporation - Applicants: Goodrich Corporation - Inventors: Ian Peter Humphrey - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10771690B2 ## CPC - G01S 17/87: Combinations of systems using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves - G01S 17/89: for mapping or imaging - G01S 17/933: of aircraft or spacecraft - G06T 7/521: from laser ranging, e.g. using interferometry; from the projection of structured light - G06T 15/00: Three-dimensional [3D] image rendering - G08G 5/80: Anti-collision systems - H04N 5/265: Mixing - H04N 23/698: for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture - H04N 23/951: by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio - G06T 2207/10028: Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds - G06T 2207/20221: Image fusion; Image merging - G06T 2207/30261: Obstacle - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93}) - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract A distributed aperture system includes a first aperture and a second aperture. The first aperture has a first field of regard and a first resolution. The second aperture has a second aperture and a second resolution and a second field of regard. The second field of regard overlaps the first field of regard and the second resolution is greater than the first resolution to provide high resolution heading information and low resolution peripheral information in a common 3D image for obstacle avoidance. Obstacle avoidance systems and imaging methods are also described. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A distributed aperture system, comprising: a first, second, and third aperture pair, each aperture pair having first and second apertures, the first aperture having a first field of regard and a first resolution and the second aperture having a second field of regard overlapping the first field of regard and a second resolution, each of the first, second, and third aperture pairs having an overlapping area in which the second field of regard overlaps the first field of regard, and wherein the second field of regard is smaller than the first field of regard, wherein the first, second, and third aperture pairs are arranged so that the first field of regard of the third aperture pair is registered to and longitudinally overlapping a portion of the first field of regard of the first aperture pair, and so that the second field of regard of the third aperture pair overlaps a portion of the second field of regard of the first aperture pair and further overlaps a portion of the second field of regard of the second aperture pair, wherein the first and second aperture pairs are arranged so that the first field of regard of the second aperture pair is registered to and laterally overlapping a portion of the first field of regard of the first aperture pair, and so that the second field of regard of the second aperture pair overlaps a portion of the second field of regard of the first aperture pair, wherein a first combined area defined by the first field of regard of the first, second, and third aperture pairs provides a first coverage area including non-overlapping areas having the first resolution that provides the peripheral information, wherein a second combined area defined by overlapping areas of the first, second, and third aperture pairs provides a second coverage area that provides a portion of heading information, the second coverage area being smaller than the first coverage area, wherein a third combined area provides a third coverage area, the third combined area being included in the second combined area and defined by at least one region of duplicative overlap in which at least two overlapping areas of the first, second, and third aperture pairs overlap, the third coverage area being smaller than the second coverage area, being in an immediate vicinity of a direction of travel, and providing another portion of the heading information, and wherein the heading information and the peripheral information are provided in a common three-dimensional (3D) image for obstacle avoidance. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The distributed aperture system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a first LIDAR system optically coupled to the first aperture and configured to generate point cloud data using electromagnetic radiation received through the first aperture of the first aperture pair. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The distributed aperture system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a second LIDAR system optically coupled to the second aperture and configured to generate point cloud data using electromagnetic radiation received through the second aperture of the first aperture pair. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The distributed aperture system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first aperture of the first, second, and third aperture pairs has a wide field of view, wherein the second aperture of the first, second, and third aperture pairs has a narrow field of view, wherein the narrow field of view is smaller than the wide field of view. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The distributed aperture system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a driver device configured to scan operatively connected to the first aperture of the first aperture pair and configured to scan the first aperture about the first field of regard. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The distributed aperture system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a driver device configured to scan operatively connected to the second aperture of the first aperture pair and configured to scan the second aperture about the second field of regard. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The distributed aperture system as recited in claim 1, wherein the third aperture has a field of view that is about the same size as the field of view of the first aperture. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The distributed aperture system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a controller operatively connected to the first aperture and the second apertures, the controller responsive to instructions recorded on a non-transitory machine readable memory to: generate first point cloud data using the electromagnetic radiation received through the first aperture of the first, second, and third aperture pairs for the first field of regard; generate second point cloud data using the electromagnetic radiation received through the second aperture of the first, second, and third aperture pairs for the second field of regard; and construct the 3D image from the first point cloud data and the second point cloud data, including the overlapping area. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The distributed aperture system as recited in claim 8, further comprising displaying the 3D image on a display carried by an aircraft. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The distributed aperture system as recited in claim 8, further comprising avoiding at obstacle during flight of an aircraft using information contained with the 3D image constructed by the distributed aperture system. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) An obstacle avoidance system, comprising: a distributed aperture system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first field of regard and the second field of regard include a direction of travel of an aircraft in forward and level flight, wherein the second field of regard includes the periphery of the direction of travel of the aircraft in forward and level flight. ### Claim 12 An imaging method, comprising: receiving electromagnetic radiation through a first aperture of each of a first, second, and third aperture pair; for each of the first, second, and third aperture pairs, generating a first point cloud data set using the electromagnetic radiation received through the first aperture in a first field of regard with a first resolution; for each of the first, second, and third aperture pairs, receiving electromagnetic radiation through a second aperture; for each of the first, second, and third aperture pairs, generating a second point cloud data set using the electromagnetic radiation received through the second aperture in a second field of regard with a second resolution, the second field of regard overlapping the first field of regard, forming an overlapping area, the second field of regard being smaller than the first field of regard; and constructing a 3D image from the first point cloud data set and the second point cloud data set of each of the first, second, and third aperture pairs, wherein the first, second, and third aperture pairs are arranged so that the first field of regard of the third aperture pair is registered to and longitudinally overlapping a portion of the first field of regard of the first aperture pair, and so that the second field of regard of the third aperture pair overlaps a portion of the second field of regard of the first aperture pair and further overlaps a portion of the second field of regard of the second aperture pair, wherein the first and second aperture pairs are arranged so that the first field of regard of the second aperture pair is registered to and laterally overlapping a portion of the first field of regard of the first aperture pair, and so that the second field of regard of the second aperture pair overlaps a portion of the second field of regard of the first aperture pair, wherein a first combined area defined by the first field of regard of the first, second, and third aperture pairs provides a first coverage area including non-overlapping areas having the first resolution that provides the peripheral information, wherein a second combined area defined by overlapping areas of the first, second, and third aperture pairs provides a second coverage area having the high resolution that provides a portion of heading information, the second coverage area being smaller than the first coverage area, wherein a third combined area provides a third coverage area, the third combined area being included in the second combined area and defined by at least one region of duplicative overlap in which at least two overlapping areas of the first, second, and third aperture pairs overlap, the third coverage area being smaller than the second coverage area, being in an immediate vicinity of a direction of travel, and providing another portion of the heading information, and wherein the 3D image includes the heading information and the peripheral information for obstacle avoidance. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method as recited in claim 12, wherein receiving electromagnetic radiation through the first aperture includes scanning the first aperture about the first field of regard. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The method as recited in claim 12, wherein receiving electromagnetic radiation through the second aperture includes scanning the second aperture about the second field of regard. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising displaying a two-dimensional projection of the 3D image.