Survey Reflector Monitoring With Passive Optical Location Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for monitoring the location of objects over time, such as buildings, face challenges in power consumption, complexity, and inefficiency, particularly when dealing with objects that experience slow positional changes or deformations due to factors like soft ground or earthquakes.
Innovation Solution
A system using passive survey reflectors, such as prisms, illuminated by divergent light beams from a central camera, which captures reflections simultaneously without moving parts, employing a non-refractive optical element and multiple light sources with distinct codes to distinguish reflections and suppress environmental noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If active light sources are used at monitored locations, then location monitoring can be achieved, but power consumption increases requiring batteries or local energy harvesting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional active monitoring approach by placing passive survey reflectors at monitored locations instead of active light sources. The camera system becomes the active element, emitting light beams toward the passive reflectors, which simply reflect the light back to the camera for position determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces survey reflectors as intermediary elements between the camera system and the monitored locations. These passive reflectors serve as mediators that enable position detection without requiring power at the monitored locations, as they merely reflect light back to the camera.
2Reliability
If traditional measurement devices are used to identify multiple target objects, then location data can be collected, but the procedure becomes time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic modulation of light sources with distinct codes to enable simultaneous identification of multiple survey reflectors. The camera system emits modulated light beams at different frequencies or code patterns, allowing the processing unit to distinguish and track multiple reflectors in parallel without time-consuming sequential identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple light sources with distinct codes into a single camera system, enabling simultaneous illumination and tracking of multiple survey reflectors. This merging of functions allows parallel data collection from multiple locations, dramatically reducing the time required compared to sequential measurement approaches.
3Reliability
If complex measurement systems with automatic target recognition are used, then measurement capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex active target units with simple, inexpensive passive survey reflectors. These passive elements have no moving parts, no power requirements, and minimal complexity, while the camera system handles all the computational complexity for position determination and target identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes mechanical or complex electronic target recognition systems with an optical-based passive reflection system. The survey reflectors are simple optical elements that passively return light to the camera, eliminating the need for complex mechanical scanning systems or active electronics at the target locations.
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 efficient, reliable, and cost-effective monitoring of object locations with reduced power consumption and complexity, allowing simultaneous tracking of multiple reflectors while minimizing environmental interference.
Implementation Method 1
an image sensor for receiving reflected light beams comprising reflections of said first divergent beam by said plurality of survey reflectors
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
A system for monitoring survey reflectors arranged at a plurality of locations on an object, having: a camera, including: - one or more light sources arranged to illuminate a field in space corresponding to at least 10% of a field of view of the camera, preferably the whole field of view; - an image sensor receiving light beams from reflections of the beam by the survey reflectors and providing data; - a body with an optical entry system, the image sensor located on a first side and the light source on a second side of the body; and a processing unit processing the data. The processing unit is configured to determine locations of the survey reflectors from the image sensor data and detect movement of the survey reflectors based on a comparison of the determined locations with previously determined locations.