Abstract: A flight control system for a flying object comprises a flying object, a navigating means provided in the flying object, a position measuring unit 17, a flight control unit 18 for controlling the navigating means, and a main arithmetic control unit 19 for controlling the position measuring unit and the flight control unit, and in the flight control system for a flying object, the position measuring unit has a GPS device 23 for measuring a ground coordinate of the flying object and a vertical camera 13 for taking a digital image below the flying object and measures an altitude of the flying object based on images at two points taken by the vertical camera, on ground coordinates of the two points measured by the GPS device, and on a focal length of the vertical camera, and the main arithmetic control unit controls the navigating means via the flight control unit based on the measured altitude and makes the flying object fly at a predetermined altitude.

Abstract: The invention provides a wide-angle image pickup unit, comprising at least two cameras (4a and 4b) to take digital images, wherein the two cameras are arranged in such a manner that optical axes (11a and 11b) of the two cameras cross perpendicularly each other on a same plane and images of wide field angle ? with the crossing point O as a center enable to be acquired, and wherein parts of field angles of the two cameras are superimposed on each other and an overlapping portion is formed by the two images superimposed on each other, and stereoscopic measurement can be performed based on the two images of the overlapping portion.

Abstract: The invention provides a three-dimensional data preparing method, using image pickup units 8a and 8b to take an image of scenery in the surroundings and to acquire digital image data, comprising a step of continuously taking images of scenery in the surroundings by the image pickup unit while moving, a step of acquiring the images taken at predetermined time interval as images for measurement, a step of extracting a landmark from the image for measurement through pattern recognition by using the landmark as a template, a step of carrying out a matching of two adjacent images for measurement as time passes, and a step of obtaining three-dimensional coordinates of a point to take the image for measurement based on three-dimensional coordinates of a landmark of the image for measurement where three-dimensional coordinates of the landmark included at least in the first one image for measurement is already known.

Abstract: The invention provides an automatic taking-off and landing system, comprising a flying object and a taking-off and landing target, wherein the flying object has an image pickup device 21 for taking images found in downward direction, navigation means 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11, and a control unit for processing images acquired by the image pickup device and for controlling the navigation means, and wherein the control unit calculates a positional relation between the taking-off and landing target and the flying object based on the image of the taking-off and landing target as acquired by the image pickup device and controls taking-off and landing operations of the flying object based on a result of the calculation.

Abstract: A 3-dimensional data preparing method, comprising a first step of continuously taking digital images when moving from a first known point, via a second known point, to a third unknown point, a second step of generating tracking points from an image acquired at the first point, and sequentially specifying the tracking points on the continuously acquired images, a third step of obtaining 3-dimensional data of the tracking points based on the first and second points, a fourth step of sequentially obtaining a position of the third point, based on the orientation and the position data of the tracking point, a fifth step of obtaining position data of an image based on the first and second points, and a sixth step of sequentially obtaining position data of images from the orientation of the images at the second and third points and from the position data at those points.

Abstract: The present invention provides a model forming apparatus that can simply and efficiently form a three-dimensional model of an object using previously obtained three-dimensional model data of the object as a starting point. The apparatus comprises a photographing section 110 for photographing an object 10, an image data storage section 130 for storing three-dimensional model data of the object, a display section 140 for displaying a three-dimensional model based on the three-dimensional model data of the object 10, a recognition section 150 for recognizing an unmodeled part of the object 10 based on the three-dimensional model data stored in the image data storage section 130, and a photographing instruction information section 160 for obtaining photographing instruction information related to photographing the unmodeled part. The photographing section 110 photographs the object 10 in accordance with the photographing instruction information obtained by the photographing instruction information section 160.

Abstract: There are provided a step of acquiring a main point cloud data on a predetermined measurement range by a laser scanner, a step of detecting a range with no data acquired, a step of acquiring a supplementary image data of the range with no data acquired by an auxiliary image pickup device, a step of preparing a stereoscopic image based on the supplementary image data obtained by the auxiliary image pickup device, a step of acquiring supplementary point cloud data from the stereoscopic image, and a step of supplementing the range with no data acquired of the main point cloud data by matching of the main point cloud data and the supplementary point cloud data.

Abstract: The present invention provides a model forming apparatus that can simply and efficiently form a three-dimensional model of an object using previously obtained three-dimensional model data of the object as a starting point. The apparatus comprises a photographing section 110 for photographing an object 10, an image data storage section 130 for storing three-dimensional model data of the object, a display section 140 for displaying a three-dimensional model based on the three-dimensional model data of the object 10, a recognition section 150 for recognizing an unmodeled part of the object 10 based on the three-dimensional model data stored in the image data storage section 130, and a photographing instruction information section 160 for obtaining photographing instruction information related to photographing the unmodeled part. The photographing section 110 photographs the object 10 in accordance with the photographing instruction information obtained by the photographing instruction information section 160.

Abstract: The present invention provides a position measuring instrument, comprising a GPS position detecting device 7, an image pickup device 9 for continuously taking a digital image, a laser distance measuring device 8, and a measuring instrument main unit 2, wherein the GPS position detecting device measures positional data at a first point and a second point, the image pickup device continuously takes digital images on sceneries in surroundings during a process where the image pickup device moves from the first point, which is a known point, via the second point to a third point, which is an unknown point, the laser distance measuring device measures a distance to the object of image pickup in parallel to the image pickup by the image pickup device, and the measuring instrument main unit generates tracking point from the image obtained at the first point, sequentially identifies the tracking points from the tracing of points generated on the images to be acquired continuously, calculates three-dimensional position

Abstract: A geographic data collecting system, comprising a distance measuring unit for projecting a distance measuring light and for measuring a distance to an object to be measured, a camera for taking an image in measuring direction, a display unit for displaying the pickup image, a touch panel provided to correspond to a screen position of the display unit, a tilt sensor for detecting a tilting of the measuring direction, and an arithmetic unit for calculating a distance to the object to be measured by giving consideration on the tilting in the measuring direction and a point-to-point distance as specified on the image by specifying two or more points of the object to be measured on a displayed image via the touch panel.

Abstract: A geographic data collecting system, comprising a distance measuring unit for projecting a distance measuring light and for measuring a distance to an object to be measured, a camera for taking an image in measuring direction, a display unit for displaying the pickup image, a touch panel provided to correspond to a screen position of the display unit, a tilt sensor for detecting a tilting of the measuring direction, and an arithmetic unit for calculating a distance to the object to be measured by giving consideration on the tilting in the measuring direction and a point-to-point distance as specified on the image by specifying two or more points of the object to be measured on a displayed image via the touch panel.

Abstract: An edge extraction device can reduce detected noise other than a contour of an article, and can improve the operability. The edge extraction device includes: an edge detection section which calculates edge strength from an image and detects an edge; a labeling processing section which performs labeling processing on the edge detected by the edge detection section and calculates a length of the edge; an edge enhancement processing section which performs edge enhancement processing by using a value corresponding to the length of the edge, which is calculated by the labeling processing section, and the edge strength, which is calculated by the edge detection; and an edge extraction section which performs binarization processing on a value of the image, which is enhanced by the edge enhancement processing section, by using an adjustable threshold value, and extracts a predetermined edge.

Abstract: A position measurement device is provided that can precisely measure the photographing position or posture of a photographing device or the coordinates of an object based on sequentially changing photographed images.

Abstract: A technique is provided that can precisely measure the photographing position and posture of a photographing device and the coordinates of an object from moving images or photographed images that sequentially change gradually, even in the case with the need to process the sway of the photographing device and the disappearance and reappearance of characteristic points.

Abstract: To realize high speed and high precision with device and method of three-dimensional measurement by applying estimating process to points corresponding to feature points in a plurality of motion frame images. With the device and method of calculating location information through processes of choosing a stereo pair, relative orientation, and bundle adjustment and using corresponding points of feature points extracted from respective motion frame images, each process is made up of two stages. To the first process section (stages: 5A and 6A), robust estimation is applied to determine estimated values of calculation parameters. In the second process section (stages: 5B and 6B), corresponding points and stereo pair of large residual errors are excluded, and estimating calculation is carried out again to make measurements in three dimensions.

Abstract: The present invention provides an automatic tracking method, comprising a light spot detecting step of detecting a light spot 37 from a target 31 supported on a moving object 30, a step of taking a moving image of the target and the moving object, a step of tracking based on the detection of the light spot, a step of performing image tracking based on the moving image in parallel to the tracking, a step of comparing a position of the target obtained by the tracking with a position of the image obtained by the image tracking, and a step of tracking based on a result of the tracking in case where the target position and the image position are within a predetermined range.

Abstract: A method for associating a stereo image, by acquiring images of an object from a first point and a second point and by associating the image at the first point and the second point, comprising a step of moving from the first point to the second point while taking an image of the object, a step of setting two or more pass points on the image of the first point, a step of comparing a preceding image and a subsequent image over time, a step of retrieving and identifying the pass points of the preceding image in the subsequent image, a step of retrieving and identifying the pass points sequentially with respect to every frame image data from the image of the first point to the image of the second point, a step of identifying the pass points of the image of the second point, and a step of associating the image at the first point with the image at the second point via the pass points.

Abstract: With apparatus and method for measuring in three dimensions by applying an estimating process to points corresponding to feature points in a plurality of motion image frames, high speed and high accuracy are realized. The apparatus comprises: a first track determining section (4B) that determines corresponding points of feature points extracted from frames of motion images and estimates by robust estimation a coordinate transformation projection parameters between frames using part of the determined corresponding points, a second track determining section (4C) that utilizes the estimated value to determine coordinate values of estimated location of each corresponding point, to determine residuals of the coordinate values relative to the estimated values for each corresponding point, to apply threshold process, and to exclude points of large residuals as incorrect corresponding points.

Abstract: A mark information is recorded in an area which is on a circumference of a magnetic disk corresponding to a last track in which a servo information write is ended or a track, which is one or two in front of the last track in which servo information is not written and the mark information is detected by returning a magnetic head in a radial direction of the magnetic disk by a fine movement stage after the magnetic head is moved to a next aimed track by a coarse movement stage. The servo information write position is detected by the magnetic head and the servo information is written in a servo information write position of a next track by positioning the magnetic head therein by using the fine movement stage.

Abstract: A surveying instrument, comprising an optical system for collimating a measuring point, a driving unit for performing scanning in a measurement range the optical system, a distance-measuring unit comprising a light wave distance measuring system, an image pickup unit for taking an image in the measurement range, an image processing unit for performing image processing to extract edges from the image picked up, and a control arithmetic operation unit for selecting a point near the edge as a measuring point on the image picked up and for controlling the distance-measuring unit to carry out surveying operation of the measuring point.