Detecting Optical Discrepancies In Captured Images

A method comprising:

• obtaining, by a processing system of an aerial vehicle, images of a physical environment captured by one or more image capture devices associated with the aerial vehicle;
• detecting, by the processing system and based at least in part on photometric discrepancies between corresponding image data in at least two of the images, an optical discrepancy associated with capture of at least one of the images;
• determining, by the processing system, that the optical discrepancy satisfies a persistence condition while a position or orientation of at least one of the one or more image capture devices changes;
• assigning, by the processing system and based at least in part on the optical discrepancy satisfying the persistence condition, a reliability state associated with at least one image region or at least one image capture device;
• selecting, by the processing system and based at least in part on the reliability state, a mitigation mode from among a plurality of mitigation modes comprising at least a first mitigation mode in which image data corresponding to the optical discrepancy is modified for visual navigation and a second mitigation mode in which operation of the aerial vehicle is modified;
• and
• generating, by the processing system, one or more control outputs according to the selected mitigation mode.

An aerial vehicle comprising:

• a propulsion system configured to maneuver the aerial vehicle through a physical environment;
• one or more image capture devices configured to capture images of the physical environment;
• and
• a processing system configured to:
• receive images captured by the one or more image capture devices;
• detect, based at least in part on comparisons of photometric characteristics of pixels corresponding to common points of reference in the physical environment, an optical discrepancy associated with capture of at least one of the images;
• determine whether the optical discrepancy satisfies a persistence condition while a position or orientation of at least one of the one or more image capture devices changes;
• determine, based at least in part on whether the optical discrepancy satisfies the persistence condition, a reliability state associated with at least one image capture device or at least one region of image data;
• select, based at least in part on the reliability state, a mitigation mode from among a plurality of mitigation modes;
• and
• control operation of the aerial vehicle according to the selected mitigation mode.

An apparatus comprising:

• one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media;
• and
• instructions stored on the one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors associated with a vehicle, cause the one or more processors to:
• obtain images of a physical environment captured by one or more image capture devices associated with the vehicle;
• detect, based at least in part on photometric error values computed from corresponding image data in the images, an optical discrepancy associated with capture of at least one of the images;
• determine that the optical discrepancy persists during movement of at least one of the vehicle or an image capture device of the one or more image capture devices;
• determine, based at least in part on the persistence of the optical discrepancy, a reliability state for at least one of an image region or an image capture device;
• select, based at least in part on the reliability state, a mitigation mode from among a plurality of mitigation modes comprising an image-data mitigation mode and a vehicle-operation mitigation mode;
• and
• cause generation of one or more control outputs according to the selected mitigation mode.