Passive Wide-Area Three-Dimensional Imaging

A system for three-dimensional (3D) imaging, the system comprising:

• an image sensor to acquire full-motion video of a scene from a platform moving with respect to the scene;
• a navigation unit to generate an estimate of a trajectory of the platform with respect to the scene;
• and
• a processor, operably coupled to the image sensor and the navigation unit, to:
• register frames of the full-motion video to each other based on the estimate of the trajectory of the platform with respect to the scene;
• estimate a spatial gradient of the full-motion video;
• estimate a temporal derivative of the full-motion video;
• and
• estimate a height map of the scene from the spatial gradient of the full-motion video and the temporal derivative of the full-motion video.

A method of three-dimensional (3D) imaging, the method comprising:

• acquiring full-motion video of a scene from a platform moving with respect to the scene while generating an estimate of a trajectory of the platform with respect to the scene;
• registering frames of the full-motion video to each other based on the estimate of the trajectory of the platform with respect to the scene;
• estimating a projected angular velocity of the platform based on the estimate of the trajectory of the platform with respect to the scene;
• estimating a texture of the full-motion video;
• and
• estimating a height map of the scene based on the projected angular velocity of the platform and the texture of the full-motion video.