US6597818B2
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Method and apparatus for performing geo-spatial registration of imagery
Assignee: SRI International Inc
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Filing: 2001-03-09
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Granted: 2003-07-22
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Expires: 2021-03-09
Abstract
Abstract A system and method for accurately mapping between image coordinates and geo-coordinates, called geo-spatial registration. The system utilizes the imagery and terrain information contained in the geo-spatial database to precisely align geodetically calibrated reference imagery with an input image, e.g., dynamically generated video images, and thus achieve a high accuracy identification of locations within the scene. When a sensor, such as a video camera, images a scene contained in the geo-spatial database, the system recalls a reference image pertaining to the imaged scene. This reference image is aligned very accurately with the sensor's images using a parametric transformation. Thereafter, other information that is associated with the reference image can easily be overlaid upon or otherwise associated with the sensor imagery.
Inventors
- 👤 Rakesh Kumar
- 👤 Stephen Charles Hsu
- 👤 Keith Hanna
- 👤 Supun Samarasekera
- 👤 Richard Patrick Wildes
- 👤 David James Hirvonen
- 👤 Thomas Edward Klinedinst
- 👤 William Brian Lehman
- 👤 Bodgan Matei
- 👤 Wenyi Zhao
- 👤 Barbara Levienaise-Obadia
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 17:56
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T3/00; G06T3/40; G06T3/4038; G06T3/14; G06T3/153; G06T7/00; G06T7/30; G06T7/35; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99943
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
73 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image; an preprocessor for processing the input image and said reference imagery using an oriented filter; and an alignment module for aligning said preprocessed input image and said preprocessed reference imagery; wherein said input is an image mosaic.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
73 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image; an preprocessor for processing the input image and said reference imagery using an oriented filter; and an alignment module for aligning said preprocessed input image and said preprocessed reference imagery; wherein said input is an image mosaic.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
84 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; a preprocessor for processing the input image and said reference imagery using an oriented filter; and an alignment module for aligning said preprocessed input image and said preprocessed reference imagery by performing oriented matching.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
84 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; a preprocessor for processing the input image and said reference imagery using an oriented filter; and an alignment module for aligning said preprocessed input image and said preprocessed reference imagery by performing oriented matching.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 2 wherein said input image is an image mosaic.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system of claim 2 further comprising: an outlier rejection module for removing inaccurate correlations between said preprocessed input image and said preprocessed reference image.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 2 wherein said alignment module registers said preprocessed input image to said preprocessed reference imagery.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 2 wherein said alignment module registers said preprocessed reference imagery to said preprocessed input image.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
82 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image; an alignment module for aligning said input image and said reference imagery by performing oriented matching of features in said input image and said reference imagery; and an outlier rejection module for removing inaccurate feature correlations between said preprocessed input image and said preprocessed reference image.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
82 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image; an alignment module for aligning said input image and said reference imagery by performing oriented matching of features in said input image and said reference imagery; and an outlier rejection module for removing inaccurate feature correlations between said preprocessed input image and said preprocessed reference image.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 7 wherein said input image is an image mosaic.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 7 wherein said alignment module registers said input image to said reference imagery.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 7 wherein said alignment module registers said reference imagery to said input image.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
80 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; and an alignment module for aligning said input image and said reference imagery by performing oriented matching of features in said input image and said reference imagery.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
80 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; and an alignment module for aligning said input image and said reference imagery by performing oriented matching of features in said input image and said reference imagery.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 11 wherein said alignment module registers said input image to said reference imagery.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 11 wherein said alignment module registers said reference imagery to said input image.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
85 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; and an alignment module for aligning said input image and said reference imagery by performing oriented matching of features in said input image and said reference imagery, wherein said input image is in image mosaic.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
85 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; and an alignment module for aligning said input image and said reference imagery by performing oriented matching of features in said input image and said reference imagery, wherein said input image is in image mosaic.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
94 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; an alignment module for aligning said input image and said reference imagery by performing oriented matching of features in said input image and said reference imagery; and an outlier rejection module for removing inaccurate feature correlations between said input image and said reference image.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
94 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; an alignment module for aligning said input image and said reference imagery by performing oriented matching of features in said input image and said reference imagery; and an outlier rejection module for removing inaccurate feature correlations between said input image and said reference image.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
78 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; and an alignment module for simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
78 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; and an alignment module for simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system of claim 16 wherein said alignment module further comprises: a coarse alignment module for coarsely aligning said reference imagery and said input images.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 17 wherein said alignment module further comprises: a fine alignment module for accurately aligning said coarsely aligned input images and said reference image.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
91 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; an alignment module for simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching; and a preprocessor module for orientation filtering said reference imagery and said input images.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
91 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; an alignment module for simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching; and a preprocessor module for orientation filtering said reference imagery and said input images.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 19 wherein the preprocessor module further comprises an interframe alignment module.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
104 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; an alignment module for simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching, and a synthetic view generation block for warping said reference imagery to have a viewpoint similar to a viewpoint of a sensor that produced said input images.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
104 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; an alignment module for simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching, and a synthetic view generation block for warping said reference imagery to have a viewpoint similar to a viewpoint of a sensor that produced said input images.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
110 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; an alignment module for simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching, a local matching module for aligning a plurality of said input images to one another; and a global matching module for simultaneously aligning the aligned plurality of input images and the reference image.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
110 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; an alignment module for simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching, a local matching module for aligning a plurality of said input images to one another; and a global matching module for simultaneously aligning the aligned plurality of input images and the reference image.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
82 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; an alignment module for simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching, and an outlier rejection module.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
82 words
A system for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: a reference database module containing geodetically calibrated reference imagery for producing reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; an alignment module for simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching, and an outlier rejection module.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
69 words
A method for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: producing geodetically calibrated reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; processing the input image and said reference imagery using an oriented filter; and aligning said processed input image and said processed reference imagery by performing oriented matching.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
69 words
A method for performing geo-spatial registration of an input image and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: producing geodetically calibrated reference imagery relating to imagery in said input image, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; processing the input image and said reference imagery using an oriented filter; and aligning said processed input image and said processed reference imagery by performing oriented matching.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 24 wherein said input image is an image mosaic.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 24 further comprising: correlating said processed input image with said processed reference imagery; removing inaccurate correlations between said preprocessed input image and said preprocessed reference image.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
66 words
A method for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: producing geodetically calibrated reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; and simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
66 words
A method for performing geo-spatial registration of a sequence of input images and geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprising: producing geodetically calibrated reference imagery relating to imagery in said input images, wherein said geodetically calibrated reference imagery comprises position information with respect to the Earth; and simultaneously aligning a plurality of input images from said sequence of input images to said reference imagery by performing oriented matching.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-07-21 | 2007-01-20 | 2007-07-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-07-21 | 2011-01-20 | 2011-07-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-07-21 | 2015-01-20 | 2015-07-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |