Patents by Inventor Dimitrios G. Kottas

Dimitrios G. Kottas has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Extrinsic parameter calibration of a vision-aided inertial navigation system
    Patent number: 10254118
    Abstract: This disclosure describes various techniques for use within a vision-aided inertial navigation system (VINS). A VINS comprises an image source to produce image data comprising a plurality of images, and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to produce IMU data indicative of a motion of the vision-aided inertial navigation system while producing the image data, wherein the image data captures features of an external calibration target that is not aligned with gravity. The VINS further includes a processing unit comprising an estimator that processes the IMU data and the image data to compute calibration parameters for the VINS concurrently with computation of a roll and pitch of the calibration target, wherein the calibration parameters define relative positions and orientations of the IMU and the image source of the vision-aided inertial navigation system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: Regents of the University of Minnesota
    Inventors: Stergios I. Roumeliotis, Dimitrios G. Kottas, Kejian J. Wu
  • Iterative Kalman Smoother for robust 3D localization for vision-aided inertial navigation
    Patent number: 9709404
    Abstract: A vision-aided inertial navigation system (VINS) is described in which a filter-based sliding-window estimator implements an Iterative Kalman Smoother (IKS) to track the 3D motion of a VINS system, such as a mobile device, in real-time using visual and inertial measurements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: Regents of the University of Minnesota
    Inventors: Stergios I. Roumeliotis, Dimitrios G. Kottas
  • ITERATIVE KALMAN SMOOTHER FOR ROBUST 3D LOCALIZATION FOR VISION-AIDED INERTIAL NAVIGATION
    Publication number: 20160305784
    Abstract: A vision-aided inertial navigation system (VINS) is described in which a filter-based sliding-window estimator implements an Iterative Kalman Smoother (IKS) to track the 3D motion of a VINS system, such as a mobile device, in real-time using visual and inertial measurements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2016
    Publication date: October 20, 2016
    Inventors: Stergios I. Roumeliotis, Dimitrios G. Kottas
  • Observability-constrained vision-aided inertial navigation
    Patent number: 9243916
    Abstract: This disclosure describes techniques for reducing or eliminating estimator inconsistency in vision-aided inertial navigation systems (VINS). For example, an observability-constrained VINS (OC-VINS) is described which enforce the unobservable directions of the system to prevent spurious information gain and reduce inconsistency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Regents of the University of Minnesota
    Inventors: Stergios I. Roumeliotis, Dimitrios G. Kottas, Chao Guo, Joel Hesch
  • EXTRINSIC PARAMETER CALIBRATION OF A VISION-AIDED INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20160005164
    Abstract: This disclosure describes various techniques for use within a vision-aided inertial navigation system (VINS). A VINS comprises an image source to produce image data comprising a plurality of images, and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to produce IMU data indicative of a motion of the vision-aided inertial navigation system while producing the image data, wherein the image data captures features of an external calibration target that is not aligned with gravity. The VINS further includes a processing unit comprising an estimator that processes the IMU data and the image data to compute calibration parameters for the VINS concurrently with computation of a roll and pitch of the calibration target, wherein the calibration parameters define relative positions and orientations of the IMU and the image source of the vision-aided inertial navigation system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2014
    Publication date: January 7, 2016
    Inventors: Stergios I. Roumeliotis, Dimitrios G. Kottas, Kejian J. Wu
  • OBSERVABILITY-CONSTRAINED VISION-AIDED INERTIAL NAVIGATION
    Publication number: 20140316698
    Abstract: This disclosure describes techniques for reducing or eliminating estimator inconsistency in vision-aided inertial navigation systems (VINS). For example, an observability-constrained VINS (OC-VINS) is described which enforce the unobservable directions of the system to prevent spurious information gain and reduce inconsistency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2014
    Publication date: October 23, 2014
    Applicant: Regents of the University of Minnesota
    Inventors: Stergios I. Roumeliotis, Dimitrios G. Kottas, Chao Guo, Joel Hesch