UAV panoramic imaging

A system for generating panoramic aerial images, comprising:

• a carrier configured to couple with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and an image capturing device such that the image capturing device is carried onboard the UAV, wherein the carrier is configured to permit the image capturing device to rotate around at least two orthogonal axes relative to the UAV while the image capturing device is performing aerial imaging, the at least two axes comprising a first axis and a second axis;
• one or more controllers configured to cause the carrier to, while the UAV is airborne,
• rotate the image capturing device by at least 360 degrees around the first axis while the image capturing device captures a plurality of successive images at predetermined intervals, and
• stabilize the image capturing device such that the image capturing device substantially maintains a leveled disposition relative to the ground;
• and
• one or more processors onboard the UAV configured to generate a panoramic image based on the plurality of images;
• wherein the UAV comprises a first set of sensors configured to detect at least a position, orientation, or velocity of the UAV, wherein the carrier comprises a second set of sensors configured to detect at least a position, posture, acceleration, or velocity of the carrier or the image capturing device, wherein at least one sensor in the second set of sensors has a higher sampling frequency than at least one sensor in the first set of sensors, and
• wherein the one or more controllers are configured to stabilize the image capturing device by controlling the UAV and the carrier collectively, utilizing sensor data acquired by one or more sensors from the first set of sensors to correct sensor data acquired by one or more sensors from the second set of sensors.

A system for generating panoramic aerial images, comprising:

• a carrier configured to couple with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and an image capturing device such that the image capturing device is carried onboard the UAV, wherein the carrier is configured to permit the image capturing device to rotate around at least two orthogonal axes relative to the UAV while the image capturing device is performing aerial imaging, the at least two axes comprising a first axis and a second axis;
• one or more controllers configured to cause the carrier to, while the UAV is airborne,
• rotate the image capturing device by a predetermined angle of rotation around the first axis while the image capturing device captures a plurality of successive images at predetermined intervals, wherein there is at least a 50% overlap between adjacent images;
• and
• stabilize the image capturing device so as to remove substantially all of vibrations caused by the UAV;
• and
• one or more processors onboard the UAV configured to generate a panoramic image based on the plurality of images;
• wherein the UAV comprises a first set of sensors configured to detect at least a position, orientation, or velocity of the UAV, wherein the carrier comprises a second set of sensors configured to detect at least a position, posture, acceleration, or velocity of the carrier or the image capturing device, wherein at least one sensor in the second set of sensors has a higher sampling frequency than at least one sensor in the first set of sensors, and
• wherein the one or more controllers are configured to stabilize the image capturing device by controlling the UAV and the carrier collectively, utilizing sensor data acquired by one or more sensors from the first set of sensors to correct sensor data acquired by one or more sensors from the second set of sensors.

A system for generating panoramic aerial images, comprising:

• a carrier configured to couple with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and an image capturing device such that the image capturing device is carried onboard the UAV, wherein the carrier is configured to permit the image capturing device to rotate around at least two orthogonal axes relative to the UAV while the image capturing device is performing aerial imaging, the at least two axes comprising a first axis and a second axis;
• a first controller for controlling the carrier to, while the UAV is airborne, rotate the image capturing device by at least 360 degrees around the first axis while reducing disturbances with respect to the second axis;
• a second controller for controlling the image capturing device to capture a plurality of successive images with overlapping regions while the image capturing device is rotating around the first axis;
• and
• one or more processors onboard the UAV configured to generate a panoramic image based on the plurality of captured images, wherein the generation of the panoramic image overlaps substantially in time with the rotation of the image capturing device;
• wherein the UAV comprises a first set of sensors configured to detect at least a position, orientation, or velocity of the UAV, wherein the carrier comprises a second set of sensors configured to detect at least a position, posture, acceleration, or velocity of the carrier or the image capturing device, wherein at least one sensor in the second set of sensors has a higher sampling frequency than at least one sensor in the first set of sensors, and
• wherein one or more controllers including the first controller are configured to stabilize the image capturing device by controlling the UAV and the carrier collectively, utilizing sensor data acquired by one or more sensors from the first set of sensors to correct sensor data acquired by one or more sensors from the second set of sensors.