Smartphone Camera Target Direction Determining Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surveying devices require dedicated hardware to determine the direction of a target, leading to increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A target direction determining device that uses photographic images captured by a smartphone or similar device to estimate the direction of a target relative to the surveying device, employing AI to calculate the necessary rotation for the device to aim at the target, thereby minimizing additional hardware requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If dedicated hardware is used to determine target direction, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a photographic image (copy) of the surveying device captured by a smartphone camera to determine direction, instead of requiring dedicated direction-detecting hardware. The image serves as a substitute for complex sensing equipment, allowing direction calculation through image processing and feature recognition algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical/optical direction-sensing hardware with a computational approach using smartphone camera images and image processing algorithms. The directional information is extracted through software analysis of visual features in the captured image rather than through dedicated directional sensors.
2Reliability
If dedicated hardware is used for direction determination, then reliability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a smartphone camera, a universal device already present in most users' possession, to perform the direction determination function. This multi-functional approach allows the same camera hardware to serve both general photography purposes and specialized surveying direction detection, eliminating the need for dedicated direction-finding hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The surveying device uses the smartphone's existing camera and processing capabilities to determine direction, leveraging resources already available in the system rather than requiring additional specialized components. The smartphone itself provides the service of direction detection that would otherwise require separate hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique enables a surveying device to acquire a direction of a target by using as little extra hardware as possible. A method aims a laser scanner, as a surveying device, at a reflective prism that is a target. The method includes obtaining a photographic image of the laser scanner that is captured by a smartphone from the reflective prism side and determining a direction of the reflective prism as seen from the laser scanner on the basis of the photographic image. The method also includes rotating the laser scanner to make the laser scanner face the reflective prism straight on, on the basis of the direction of the reflective prism as seen from the laser scanner.