Augmented three dimensional point collection of vertical structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9542738-B2
Application number	US-201615060264-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 3, 2016
Priority date	Jan 31, 2014
Publication date	Jan 10, 2017
Grant date	Jan 10, 2017

Abstract

Automated methods and systems of creating three dimensional LIDAR data are disclosed, including a method comprising capturing images of a geographic area with one or more image capturing devices as well as location and orientation data for each of the images corresponding to the location and orientation of the one or more image capturing devices capturing the images, the images depicting an object of interest; capturing three-dimensional LIDAR data of the geographic area with one or more LIDAR system such that the three-dimensional LIDAR data includes the object of interest; storing the three-dimensional LIDAR data on a non-transitory computer readable medium; analyzing the images with a computer system to determine three dimensional locations of points on the object of interest; and updating the three-dimensional LIDAR data with the three dimensional locations of points on the object of interest determined by analyzing the images.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for analyzing a utility network comprising:
capturing images of a geographic area encompassing at least a portion of a utility network with one or more image capturing devices, the images including utility wires and utility towers having cross bars as well as location and orientation data for each of the images corresponding to the location and orientation of the one or more image capturing devices capturing the image; and
analyzing at least one of the images with a computer system running a utility network detection algorithm with a gabor filter to identify pixel locations within the at least one image of cross bars depicted within the images, wherein the gabor filter is a first gabor filter having a first longitudinal axis, the pixel locations are first pixel locations, and wherein analyzing further comprises analyzing at least one of the images with the computer system running the utility network detection algorithm with a second gabor filter having a second longitudinal axis substantially aligned with the utility wires depicted in the at least one image to identify second pixel locations within the at least one of the images of the utility wires depicted within the at least one of the images, wherein the first longitudinal axis extends within a range between 85 to 95 degrees relative to the second longitudinal axis.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of converting the first and second pixel locations to real-world three dimensional coordinates using the first and second pixel locations and the location and orientation data corresponding to the location and orientation of the one or more image capturing devices capturing the images and storing the real-world three dimensional coordinates within a three-dimensional model of the utility network.

Assignees

• Pictometry Int Corp

Inventors

• Schultz Stephen L
• Nilosek David R
• Petterson David S
• Harrington Timothy S

Classifications

• H04N13/10

  Processing, recording or transmission of stereoscopic or multi-view image signals · CPC title

• G01S17/89 Primary

  for mapping or imaging · CPC title

• G06T7/0004 Primary

  Industrial image inspection · CPC title

• G06T7/73

  using feature-based methods · CPC title

• G06T2207/10032

  Satellite or aerial image; Remote sensing · CPC title