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US 9,470,579 B2Granted
System and method for calibrating imaging measurements taken from aerial vehicles
AssigneeSlantrange, Inc.
InventorsMichael Ritter, Michael Milton
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for calibrating spectral measurements taken of one or more targets from an aerial vehicle. Multiple photo sensors may be configured to obtain spectral measurements of one or more ambient light sources. The obtained spectral measurements of the one or more ambient light sources may be used to calibrate the obtained spectral measurements of the target.
Claims19
A system for obtaining calibrated spectrally-resolved images of a target, the system comprising:
- an aerial vehicle;
- at least two spectral imaging devices disposed at the aerial vehicle including a first spectral imaging device and a second spectral imaging device, the first spectral imaging device being configured to obtain spectrally-resolved images of a target over a first discrete spectral frequency range centered on a first spectral frequency, the second spectral imaging device being configured to obtain spectrally-resolved images of the target over a second discrete spectral frequency range centered on a second spectral frequency, the first spectral frequency being different from the second spectral frequency, the target being at least partially illuminated by one or more ambient light sources;
- and
- at least two photo sensors disposed at the aerial vehicle including a first photo sensor and a second photo sensor, the first photo sensor being configured to obtain measurements of the one or more ambient light sources over the first discrete spectral frequency range centered on the first spectral frequency, the second photo sensor being configured to obtain measurements of the one or more ambient light sources over the second discrete spectral frequency range centered on the second spectral frequency;
- wherein the spectrally-resolved images obtained by the first spectral imaging device are calibrated based on the measurements of the one or more ambient light sources obtained by the first photo sensor;
- wherein the spectrally-resolved images obtained by the second spectral imaging device are calibrated based on the measurements of the one or more ambient light sources obtained by the second photo sensor;
- and
- wherein the first photo sensor includes a first light emitting diode (LED) used as a sensor and the second photo sensor includes a second LED used as a sensor.
5 more elements
A method for obtaining calibrated spectrally-resolved images of a target using an aerial vehicle, the aerial vehicle comprising (1) at least two spectral imaging devices disposed at the aerial vehicle including a first spectral imaging device and a second spectral imaging device and (2) at least two photo sensors disposed at the aerial vehicle including a first photo sensor and a second photo sensor, the method comprising:
- obtaining spectrally-resolved images of a target over a first discrete spectral frequency range centered on a first spectral frequency, using a first spectral imaging device
- obtaining spectrally-resolved images of the target over a second discrete spectral frequency range centered on a second spectral frequency, using a second spectral imaging device, the first spectral frequency being different from the second spectral frequency, the target being at least partially illuminated by one or more ambient light sources;
- obtaining measurements of the one or more ambient light sources over the first discrete spectral frequency range centered on the first spectral frequency, using a first photo sensor;
- obtaining measurements of the one or more ambient light sources over the second discrete spectral frequency range centered on the second spectral frequency, using a second photo sensor;
- calibrating the spectrally-resolved images obtained by the first spectral imaging device based on the measurements of the one or more ambient light sources obtained by the first photo sensor;
- and
- calibrating the spectrally-resolved images obtained by the second spectral imaging device based on the measurements of the one or more ambient light sources obtained by the second photo sensor;
- wherein the first photo sensor includes a first light emitting diode (LED) used as a sensor and the second photo sensor includes a second LED used as a sensor.
5 more elements
A system for obtaining calibrated spectrally-resolved images of a target, the system comprising:
- an aerial vehicle;
- at least two spectral imaging devices disposed at the aerial vehicle including a first spectral imaging device and a second spectral imaging device, the first spectral imaging device being configured to obtain spectrally-resolved images of a target over a first discrete spectral frequency range centered on a first spectral frequency, the second spectral imaging device being configured to obtain spectrally-resolved images of the target over a second discrete spectral frequency range centered on a second spectral frequency, the first spectral frequency being different from the second spectral frequency, the target being at least partially illuminated by one or more ambient light sources;
- at least two photo sensors disposed at the aerial vehicle including a first photo sensor and a second photo sensor, the first photo sensor and the second photo sensor being configured to obtain broadband measurements of the one or more ambient light sources;
- and
- at least two filters corresponding to the at least two photo sensors including a first filter corresponding to the first photo sensor and a second filter corresponding to the second photo sensor, the first filter being configured to only allow light from the one or more ambient light sources to reach the first photo sensor over the first discrete spectral frequency range centered on the first spectral frequency, the second filter being configured to only allow light from the one or more ambient light sources to reach the second photo sensor over the second discrete spectral frequency range centered on the second spectral frequency;
- wherein the spectrally-resolved images obtained by the first spectral imaging device are calibrated based on the measurements of the one or more ambient light sources obtained by the first photo sensor;
- and
- wherein the spectrally-resolved images obtained by the second spectral imaging device are calibrated based on the measurements of the one or more ambient light sources obtained by the second photo sensor.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.