Patents by Inventor Hideki Shimamura

Hideki Shimamura 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).

  • Patent number: 8538151
    Abstract: Provided is a building roof outline recognition device which facilitates automation. A small-building candidate region is extracted based on normalized DSM data using a region segmentation method. By using the building candidate region as a marker and further using height information included in the normalized DSM data and the like, a building region is extracted using a region growing method. While referencing the height information, from among edges appearing in the orthoimage, edges fitting with an outer shape of the building region are extracted as an outer shape of the roof when viewed from above. Further, for a building judged to have a slanted roof, a roof structure line which is the boundary between the roof surfaces is extracted from the building region, and a three-dimensional structure of the building roof outline is determined from the roof outer shape and the roof structure line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: Pasco Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Shimamura, Lin Zhu
  • Patent number: 8494211
    Abstract: It is an object to improve the accuracy of a house change judgment based on images and the like acquired by an airplane. A terrain altitude is subtracted from an attitude value of a digital surface model (DSM) acquired from an airplane or the like to generate a normalized DSM (NDSM). A judgment target region is segmented into a plurality of regions of elevated part for each elevated part with a size corresponding to a house appearing on the NDSM. An outline of the house is extracted from each region of elevated part and a house object containing three-dimensional information on the house is defined by the outline and NDSM data within the outline. The house objects acquired at two different time points, respectively, are compared to detect a variation between the two different time points, and a judgment as to a house change is made based on the variation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Pasco Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Shimamura, Lin Zhu
  • Patent number: 8478003
    Abstract: Vegetation growth condition analyzer, method and record medium using plural radar imaees of a ground surface of a same target area, which have been laken at multiple times during the year obtained from a flying body, e.g. an artificial satellite are disclosed. These images are stored in a map database and aligned wjth a criterion image. Extracting a backscatter coefficient of a specified target area in the criterion image from the map database and calibrating the backscatter coefficients of other radar images are entailed. Finally, calculating growth values of vegetation shown in the radar images by use of the calibrated backscatter coefficients are obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignees: Pasco Corporation, National University Corporation Nagaoka University of Technology
    Inventors: Atsushi Rikimaru, Kazuyoshi Takahashi, Hideki Shimamura
  • Publication number: 20120183205
    Abstract: Measurement of 3D displacement based on successively captured images of an object becomes difficult to be performed due to a load imposed on an operator along with an increase of the number of target portions defined on the object and that of time steps for displacement measurement. A device for displacement measurement executes stereo measurement relative to a stereo image to generate 3D shape information and orthographically projected image of an object for each time, and tracks the 2D image of the target portion through pattern matching between orthographically projected images at successive times to obtain a 2D displacement vector. The device for displacement measurement converts the start point and the end point of the 2D displacement vector into 3D coordinates, using the 3D shape information, to obtain a 3D displacement vector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2010
    Publication date: July 19, 2012
    Applicants: INCORPORATED ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY PUBLIC WORKS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, PASCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hideki Shimamura, Hiroyuki Shimomura, Kikuo Tachibana, Lin Zhu, Kazunori Fujisawa
  • Patent number: 8134465
    Abstract: The invention is directed to the provision of a registration method and a placement assisting apparatus that can accurately register an object into a three-dimensional spatial database. More specifically, the invention provides a registration method for a location information tag, includes the steps of acquiring tag information of the location information tag, acquiring coordinate data that indicates scheduled placement information of the location information tag, acquiring positioning data that indicates placement location information of the location information tag, and registering the location information tag into a three-dimensional spatial database when an error between the coordinate data and the positioning data is within tolerance, and also provides a placement assisting apparatus for use in such a registration method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: PASCO Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroko Fujiwara, Katsuya Homma, Hideki Shimamura, Yoichi Sugimoto
  • Publication number: 20110222738
    Abstract: It is aimed to enable analyzing vegetation growth conditions at multiple times of a year accurately using radar images obtainable from a flying body such as artificial satellites, etc. A plurality of radar images of a ground surface of a same target area, which have been taken at multiple times of a year by a radar device mounted on a flying body, are acquired. The acquired plurality of radar images is stored in a map database. While using as a criterion image a radar image of the plurality of radar images stored in the map database, taken at a predetermined time in the multiple times of a year, other radar images than the criterion image of the plurality of radar images, taken at other times than the predetermined time in the multiple times of a year, are aligned with the criterion image, respectively. Then, backscatter coefficients of specified areas in the plurality of radar images are extracted.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2009
    Publication date: September 15, 2011
    Applicants: Pasco Corporation, National University Corp. Nagaoka Uni of Tech.
    Inventors: Atsushi Rikimaru, Kazuyoshi Takahashi, Hideki Shimamura
  • Publication number: 20110033110
    Abstract: Provided is a building roof outline recognition device which facilitates automation. A small-building candidate region is extracted based on normalized DSM data using a region segmentation method. By using the building candidate region as a marker and further using height information included in the normalized DSM data and the like, a building region is extracted using a region growing method. While referencing the height information, from among edges appearing in the orthoimage, edges fitting with an outer shape of the building region are extracted as an outer shape of the roof when viewed from above. Further, for a building judged to have a slanted roof, a roof structure line which is the boundary between the roof surfaces is extracted from the building region, and a three-dimensional structure of the building roof outline is determined from the roof outer shape and the roof structure line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2009
    Publication date: February 10, 2011
    Applicant: PASCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hideki Shimamura, Lin Zhu
  • Publication number: 20100208982
    Abstract: It is an object to improve the accuracy of a house change judgment based on images and the like acquired by an airplane. A terrain altitude is subtracted from an attitude value of a digital surface model (DSM) acquired from an airplane or the like to generate a normalized DSM (NDSM). A judgment target region is segmented into a plurality of regions of elevated part for each elevated part with a size corresponding to a house appearing on the NDSM. An outline of the house is extracted from each region of elevated part and a house object containing three-dimensional information on the house is defined by the outline and NDSM data within the outline. The house objects acquired at two different time points, respectively, are compared to detect a variation between the two different time points, and a judgment as to a house change is made based on the variation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2008
    Publication date: August 19, 2010
    Applicant: PASCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hideki Shimamura, Lin Zhu
  • Publication number: 20090267768
    Abstract: The invention is directed to the provision of a registration method and a placement assisting apparatus that can accurately register an object into a three-dimensional spatial database. More specifically, the invention provides a registration method for a location information tag, includes the steps of acquiring tag information of the location information tag, acquiring coordinate data that indicates scheduled placement information of the location information tag, acquiring positioning data that indicates placement location information of the location information tag, and registering the location information tag into a three-dimensional spatial database when an error between the coordinate data and the positioning data is within tolerance, and also provides a placement assisting apparatus for use in such a registration method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2007
    Publication date: October 29, 2009
    Inventors: Hiroko Fujiwara, Katsuya Homma, Hideki Shimamura, Yoichi Sugimoto