Day/night filter glass for aircraft camera systems
AssigneeWing Aviation LLC
InventorsKyle Krafka, Dinuka Abeywardena
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A technique for using an onboard camera capable of day and night operation on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes: traveling along a route of the UAV at night; and acquiring an aerial image with an onboard camera. The onboard camera includes: a sensor device for receiving photons and converting the photons into photoelectrons; a processor for processing the photoelectrons into an image file; a lens positioned adjacent to the sensor device for focusing the photons on the sensor device; and a filter positioned adjacent an outer surface of the lens. The filter can permit photons in the infrared light spectrum to pass to the lens, and attenuate at least a portion of the photons in the visible light spectrum prior to reaching the lens.
Claims24
A non-transitory computer-readable medium having logic stored thereon that, in response to execution by one or more processors of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), causes the UAV to perform actions comprising:
- traveling along a route of the UAV at night;
- and
- acquiring an aerial image with an onboard camera, the onboard camera comprising:
- a sensor device for receiving photons and converting the photons into photoelectrons;
- a processor for processing the photoelectrons into an image file;
- a lens positioned adjacent to the sensor device for focusing the photons on the sensor device;
- and
- a filter positioned adjacent to an outer surface of the lens, wherein the filter has a first transmission property that permits a majority of the photons in an infrared light spectrum from 840 nm to 860 nm to pass to the lens, and wherein the filter has a second transmission property that attenuates a majority of the photons in a visible light spectrum from 430 nm to 640 nm prior to reaching the lens, wherein the second transmission property reduces oversaturation of the sensor device during daytime operations of the UAV while the first transmission property enables use of an infrared illuminator on the UAV during nighttime operations of the UAV.
At least one non-transitory machine-accessible storage medium that provides instructions that, when executed by a controller of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), will cause the UAV to perform operations, comprising:
- traveling along a first route of the UAV at night;
- acquiring a nighttime aerial image;
- traveling along a second route of the UAV during the day;
- and
- acquiring a daytime aerial image,
- wherein the nighttime and daytime aerial images are acquired with an onboard camera, the onboard camera comprising:
- a sensor device for receiving photons and converting the photons into photoelectrons;
- a lens positioned adjacent to the sensor device for focusing the photons on the sensor device;
- and
- a day/night filter positioned adjacent to an outer surface of the lens, wherein the filter has a first transmission property that permits a majority of the photons in an infrared light spectrum from 840 nm to 860 nm to pass to the lens, and wherein the filter has a second transmission property that attenuates a majority of the photons in a visible light spectrum from 430 nm to 640 nm prior to reaching the lens, wherein the second transmission property reduces oversaturation of the sensor device during daytime operations of the UAV while the first transmission property enables use of an infrared illuminator on the UAV during nighttime operations of the UAV.
A unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
- an onboard camera including an image sensor adapted for receiving photons and converting the photons into photoelectrons;
- an infrared emitter adapted to generate infrared illumination;
- a processor coupled to the onboard camera for processing the photoelectrons into an image file;
- and
- a filter positioned over a lens of the onboard camera, wherein the filter has a first transmission property that permits a majority of the photons in an infrared light spectrum from 840 nm to 860 nm to pass to the lens, and wherein the filter has a second transmission property that attenuates a majority of the photons in a visible light spectrum from 430 nm to 640 nm prior to reaching the lens, wherein the second transmission property reduces oversaturation of the sensor device during daytime operations of the UAV while the first transmission property enables use of the infrared illuminator on the UAV during nighttime operations of the UAV.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.