Stereo Light Beam Detection for Automatic Target Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lighting systems in the show-business sector face challenges in accurately aligning light beams with intended targets due to misalignment of lighting fixtures and performers' positions, leading to inefficient and time-consuming manual adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A stereoscopic computer-vision system using two cameras to detect the position of light beams and automatically adjust their orientation based on disparity maps and calibration data, ensuring precise alignment with desired targets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual adjustment is performed by operators to correct light beam orientation, then lighting accuracy can be restored, but time consumption and operational complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical adjustment with an automated optical detection and control system. Cameras capture images of light beams, software processes these images to determine beam positions and orientations, and the system automatically calculates correction parameters. This substitutes the manual mechanical adjustment process with an automated opto-electronic system, resolving the contradiction by maintaining lighting accuracy while eliminating time-consuming manual operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by allowing the lighting system to automatically detect and correct its own misalignment. The cameras and processing software monitor light beam positions in real-time, automatically compute the deviations from desired positions, and generate correction parameters without requiring external operator intervention. This self-correction capability maintains precision while minimizing time loss.
2Ease of operation
If fixed correction is applied to light sources throughout the show, then operational simplicity is improved, but adaptability to installation defects is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic correction by continuously monitoring light beam positions using cameras and processing software throughout the show. Rather than applying a fixed correction value, the system dynamically adjusts correction parameters based on real-time detection of beam positions and orientations. This allows the system to maintain operational simplicity through automated control while simultaneously adapting to various installation defects and positional variations that may occur during the performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where cameras continuously capture light beam positions, the software processes this visual information to determine deviations from desired positions, and correction parameters are generated based on this feedback. This closed-loop feedback system enables the lighting system to automatically adapt to installation defects while maintaining ease of operation through centralized automated control.
3Measurement precision
If multiple cameras are used for stereoscopic detection, then measurement precision of light beam position is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs stereoscopic vision by using multiple cameras positioned at different spatial locations to detect light beam positions. By capturing images from multiple dimensions and angles, the system constructs a three-dimensional understanding of beam positions and orientations. This multi-dimensional approach significantly improves measurement precision by enabling accurate depth and position calculation through triangulation, while the complexity is managed through integrated software processing that combines images from multiple cameras.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid, automated correction of light beam orientations, reducing manual intervention time and improving lighting accuracy with precision up to 1-2% deviation.
Implementation Method 1
A stereoscopic computer-vision system using two cameras to detect the position of light beams and automatically adjust their orientation based on disparity maps
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A computer-vision system equipped with a first camera and a second camera spaced apart from each other enables acquisition of a first image (ImgL) and a second image (ImgR) of a light beam that propagates from a light-beam source towards a target position of the light beam. The first image (ImgL) and the second image (ImgR) of the beam differ from each other as a result of the first camera and the second camera being spaced apart from each other. The system produces (206) a disparity map of the first image (ImgL) and second image (ImgR) of the beam that is to be projected in a three-dimensional point cloud starting from the disparity map according to point-cloud-projection calibration data (CC) that set in relation disparity maps for reference images with respective three-dimensional point clouds. The points of the three-dimensional point cloud projected are clustered together (208) to produce a geometrical line (210) that extends between the light-beam source and the target position of the light beam. It is thus possible, for example, to locate an actual target position of the light beam, which is to be compared with a desired target position, detecting the relative offset thereof. The orientation of the beam can then be adjusted as a function of the offset detected, causing the light beam to propagate towards the desired target position.