Mobile Camera Positioning via Time-Lag Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing position measuring methods, such as those using radar and stereo cameras, face challenges in accurately determining the position of a target without emitting radio waves and suffer from significant measurement errors due to time lags and limited camera configurations, especially when the target is distant or moving.
Innovation Solution
A position measuring method and system that utilize multiple mobile objects equipped with imaging devices to capture images of a target from different locations, measure orientations and distances, correct for time differences in image acquisition, and calculate an estimated position based on corrected orientations and distances, thereby reducing measurement errors without relying on external signals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If radar is used to measure the position of a target, then the position can be measured, but radio waves are emitted making it detectable to others
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces radar (electromagnetic wave-based system) with an optical camera system that uses visible light to capture images of the target. The position is determined through image processing and focus adjustment rather than active radio wave emission, thus eliminating the harmful radio wave transmission while maintaining position measurement capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the mobile object's own movement and the optical camera's focus adjustment mechanism to determine position. The camera focuses on the target at different positions, and the focus adjustment process itself provides the measurement data, eliminating the need for external active signaling systems.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If focus adjustment of an optical camera is used to measure distance, then no radio waves are emitted, but large measurement errors occur when the object is distant or the camera has large depth of field
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from measuring distance in a single dimension (focus adjustment alone) to measuring in multiple dimensions by capturing images at multiple positions from different locations. This multi-position imaging approach provides additional geometric information that resolves the measurement ambiguities caused by large depth of field or distant objects.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary image capture at multiple positions before final position determination. By acquiring images from multiple locations in advance and storing them for later processing, the system can retrospectively determine accurate positions through image matching and geometric calculation, overcoming the limitations of single-shot focus-based measurement.
3Measurement precision
If images are captured from multiple locations to improve position measurement, then measurement accuracy improves, but time lags between captures cause measurement errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures images at multiple positions in advance and stores them for later processing. By performing the image acquisition beforehand and maintaining a database of images with their corresponding position information, the system can later retrieve and process these pre-captured images to determine current target position, thereby compensating for time lags.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously updates the database of captured images and their positions, then uses this stored information to determine current target position through image matching. This feedback mechanism allows the system to account for time lags by referencing previously captured image data that is already processed and stored.
4Device complexity
If a single optical camera is used, then the device is simple, but measurement errors increase when the target is distant or moving
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the measurement task into multiple segments by capturing images at multiple distinct positions rather than relying on a single position. Each position provides an independent measurement segment, and the final position is determined by integrating these segments through image matching and geometric calculation, thereby improving accuracy without requiring a single complex camera system.
Data Source
AI summary
A position measuring apparatus includes an imaging device and a controller, and is mounted on one or more mobile objects and configured to measure a position of a target. The imaging device is configured to acquire images of the target from a plurality of locations that are different from each other. The controller is configured to measure, on the basis of the images of the target, one or both of orientations of the target as viewed from the respective locations and distances to the target from the respective locations, correct one of the measured orientations of the target and the measured distances to the target to thereby reduce a difference between times at which the respective images are acquired at the respective locations, and calculate an estimated position of the target, on a basis of one of the corrected orientations of the target and the corrected distances to the target.