Remote Object Tracking System with Time-Delay Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In remote object tracking systems, time-delays in communication between the sensing unit and control center lead to inaccuracies in object location estimation, causing instability and overshoots in the tracking process, especially when human input is involved, as the operator must calculate the object's future location, which may result in locking onto the wrong background object.
Innovation Solution
A tracking system that assigns object-tags to identified objects in a succession of images, allowing the sensing unit to trace and update the object's location, and includes an object locating module to estimate the current location of the object if it's not in the field of view, enabling precise tracking despite communication delays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the operator manually calculates and estimates the expected location of the object to compensate for time-delay, then the tracking accuracy may be improved, but the system complexity and difficulty of operation increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary module (object location estimation module) that automatically calculates the object's future position based on historical trajectory data. This intermediary component bridges the time-delay gap between image capture and display, eliminating the need for manual calculation by the operator while maintaining tracking accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically estimating object positions and generating correction instructions without requiring human intervention. The object location estimation module continuously updates the object's predicted position based on its own historical movement data, making the system autonomous and reducing operational complexity.
2Measurement precision
If the operator manually calculates the object's future location to account for time-delay, then tracking precision may be maintained, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to the complexity of manual calculation and estimation
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically estimating object positions and generating correction instructions without requiring human intervention. The object location estimation module continuously updates the object's predicted position based on its own historical movement data, making the system autonomous and reducing operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/manual calculation process with an automated computational system. The object location estimation module uses algorithmic processing to predict object positions, substituting the operator's manual mathematical calculations with automated software-based computations that are both more accurate and easier to operate.
3Measurement precision
If the sensing unit continuously transmits high-resolution images to the control center for real-time tracking, then the measurement precision improves, but the loss of time increases due to communication bandwidth limitations and data processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential tracking information (object position coordinates and movement trajectory) from the full images and transmits this extracted data to the control center. This selective data extraction reduces communication bandwidth requirements and processing time while maintaining sufficient accuracy for tracking purposes, as the object's position can be determined from reduced data sets.
Solution Approach 2:
The object location estimation module performs preliminary calculations of the object's future position before the image is fully processed and transmitted. By pre-calculating the predicted position based on historical trajectory data, the system reduces the time required for post-processing and accelerates the overall tracking response time.
Data Source
AI summary
The presently disclosed subject matter includes a tracking system and method which for tracking objects by a sensing unit operable to communicate over a communication link with a control center which enables to execute a command generated at the control center with respect to a selected object in an image captured by the sensing unit, notwithstanding a time-delay between a time when the sensing unit acquires the image with the selected object, to a time when the command is received at the sensing unit with respect to the selected object.