Abstract: A system for automatically tracking the location of a vehicle includes a visual image detector mounted on the vehicle for producing as the vehicle moves along a route digitized strips of image data representing successive panoramic views of scenery about the vehicle at respective locations along the route. A sparse tracking subsystem processes and stores only selected ones of the image data strips representing substantially spaced apart successive locations along the route, for use as a sparse database. A dense tracking subsystem processes and stores as a dense database every successive one of the image data strips representing location along the route, whereby the dense tracking subsystem provides more accurate location of the vehicle when it retraces some portion of the route than the sparse tracking subsystem.

Abstract: An omnidirectional light sensor is provided in a disk-like housing including a plurality of successive spaced apart individual radially directed capsules, each including a lens in a frontmost opening on a side edge of the housing, for focussing light rays from surrounding scenery into the interior of the capsule. A prism or reflecting mirror in each capsule receives the focussed light rays for directing them onto an associated photosensor located radially inward in the capsule, for converting the light rays into pixels representing the associated image portion. The pixels form a panoramic digital data strip from the received image portions.