Real time three dimensional geo-referenced digital orthophotograph-based positioning, navigation, collision avoidance and decision support system

A vehicle position tracking and display system, comprising:

• positioning means for providing positional coordinate signals corresponding to spatial coordinates of a current position of a vehicle;
• computational means for accessing an image library of differentially rectified images for predefined geographic area, indexed by spatial coordinates, and a data library of terrain elevational data of said predefined geographic areas, indexed by said spatial coordinates of said current position of said vehicle;
• for receiving said positional coordinate signals;
• and for analyzing said positional coordinate signals by selecting said differentially rectified images from said image library and said terrain elevational data from said data library;
• processing said positional coordinate signals, said selected differentially rectified images, and said terrain elevational data into resultant differentially rectified image signals corresponding to the current position and terrain of said vehicle;
• and
• display means responsive to said resultant differentially rectified image signals for translating said resultant differentially rectified image signals into visual, pictorial information corresponding to the current position and geographic surroundings of said vehicle.