Real-time image motion correction or stabilization system and methods for projectiles or munitions in flight

A projectile or munition with a real-time in flight image motion correction or stabilization system comprising:

• at least one image sensor adapted to acquire image data periodically or substantially continuously during flight of the projectile or munition;
• at least one inertial measurement unit (IMU);
• a transceiver adapted to enable communication between the projectile or munition and an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to provide sensor and/or image data from the UAV;
• and
• at least one processor adapted to receive image data from the at least one sensor and movement data from the at least one IMU, sensor and/or image data from the UAV, the processor comprising;
• a) a feature selection algorithm comprised in the processor and adapted to identify at least two key features in the image data based on the image data acquired during flight of the projectile or munition;
• b) a motion vector application algorithm comprised in the processor and adapted to apply vectors of motion corresponding to the at least two key features in the image data, the vectors of motion characterizing movement associated with the at least two key features within the image data;
• c) a motion estimation algorithm comprised in the processor and adapted to estimate motion of the image sensor based on the vectors of motion corresponding to the identified at least two key features in the image data by correlating a distance and direction of the movement associated with the at least two key features within the image data based at least in part on the vectors of motion;
• and
• d) a stabilization algorithm comprised in the processor and adapted to correct or stabilize movement of the image data based at least in part on the vectors of motion and the estimated motion of the image sensor by shifting one or more images or frames of image data based at least in part on the estimated motion,
• wherein the processor is further adapted to provide guidance commands based in part on the algorithms, outputs of the algorithms, and the sensor or image data from the UAV, motion of the image data exhibits an amplitude of 25 degrees or more and a frequency of 0.1 Hz or greater, and the processor and algorithms are adapted to perform the method on image data exhibiting such motion.

A projectile or munition with a real-time in flight image motion correction or stabilization system comprising:

• at least one image sensor adapted to acquire image data periodically or substantially continuously during flight of the projectile or munition;
• at least one inertial measurement unit (IMU);
• a transceiver adapted to enable communication between the projectile or munition and an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to provide sensor and/or image data from the UAV;
• and
• at least one processor adapted to receive image data from the at least one sensor and movement data from the at least one IMU, sensor and/or image data from the UAV, the processor comprising;
• a) a feature selection algorithm comprised in the processor and adapted to identify at least one key feature in the image data acquired during flight of the projectile or munition;
• b) a motion vector application algorithm comprised in the processor and adapted to apply vectors of motion corresponding to the at least one key feature in the image data, the vectors of motion characterizing movement associated with the at least one key feature within the image data;
• c) a motion estimation algorithm comprised in the processor and adapted to estimate motion of the image sensor based on the vectors of motion corresponding to the identified at least one key feature in the image data by correlating a distance and direction of the movement associated with the at least at least one key feature within the image data based at least in part on the vectors of motion;
• d) a stabilization algorithm comprised in the processor and adapted to correct or stabilize movement of the image data based at least in part on the vectors of motion and the estimated motion of the image sensor by shifting one or more images or frames of image data based at least in part on the estimated motion;
• and
• at least one actuator adapted to activate and/or deactivate at least one activatable flow effector to guide the projectile or munition toward a target,
• wherein the processor is further adapted to provide guidance commands based in part on the algorithms, outputs of the algorithms, and the sensor or image data from the UAV, and the actuator is adapted to guide the projectile or munition based on the guidance commands.