JP2004151278A - Aerial photographic map creating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a simple, safe and extremely accurate image map by using an air balloon or small-sized unmanned airship tied up to an observation ship to fly over it. <P>SOLUTION: The air balloon 3 tied up to the observation ship 1 is equipped with a digital still camera 8 and a video-recording device 9, and the observation ship 1, has a gyrocompass device 19 and a GPS device 20 which detect its azimuth and position, a personal computer 17, and a data recording device 21. Detected values of the azimuth and position are inputted to the personal computer 17 to obtain data on the azimuth and position, which are stored in the data recording device 21; and a separately provided data processing unit 23 generates map information according to an image recorded by the video recording device 9, the azimuth and position data stored in the data recording device 21, and map coordinate data previously recorded in the data processing unit 23. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for creating an aerial photograph map using a tethered balloon, and more particularly, to an aerial photograph map creating apparatus using an aerial photograph taken from a balloon or a small airship.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Various observation methods for observing the environment of a subtropical seagrass bed ecosystem have been tried in order to contribute to environmental conservation.
[0003]
For example, in the sea area of subtropical seagrass beds, the transparency of the seawater is high and the state of the sea can be easily observed from the sky, and aerial photographs with relatively high resolution are used to investigate the distribution of seaweed beds. Further, an image obtained from a polar orbit city star image (LAmSAT) is also used.
[0004]
In addition, the present inventors are developing a simple and highly reliable survey method of a seaweed bed using an underwater traveling video system.
[0005]
By the way, this is an image registration device that performs registration with an aerial photograph with high accuracy, wherein feature points extracted from a teaching image are associated with a map as feature points for comparison, and the feature points for comparison and the image to be compared are compared. A technique is known in which a feature point extracted from is converted into a map coordinate system by a given conversion formula, a nearby positional relationship is checked, and a corresponding point pair is extracted (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0006]
A grazing livestock remote management system using GPS, which can easily match the map coordinates displayed on the screen with the position coordinates of livestock, wherein the monitoring center receives radio waves from GPS satellites to determine the position of its own station. The livestock position from a livestock equipped with a collar with a built-in transmitter / receiver that sends out along with the reception time is obtained, and the image position correction device extracts the monitoring center position at the reception time that matches the livestock position, An error amount between the extracted monitoring center position and the absolute coordinates of the monitoring center position is obtained, and after moving each image position of the map on the screen based on the error amount, the livestock position from the livestock is displayed on this map. The technology is publicly known (for example, refer to Patent Document 2).
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-5-181949 [Patent Document 2]
JP-A-10-160819 [0008]
However, the seaweed beds change over time, and in order to cope with seasonal changes and aging, images must be obtained frequently. Therefore, aerial photographs are taken each time. Costly. Further, the polar orbit street star image (LAmSAT) is obtained several times a month, but the image resolution is poor.
[0009]
In addition, since the underwater video system is operated in a shallow water area, a boat with a shallow draft and short height is used, but if the underwater video system is several tens of meters away, monitoring from the boat is not easy. is there.
[0010]
According to the technology for aligning an aerial photograph and a map disclosed in Patent Document 1, feature points on an image must be picked up, and feature points are difficult to find on the sea. Is inappropriate and cannot be used.
[0011]
Further, Patent Document 2 can position an aerial image based on position information from a large number of livestock, but cannot release livestock into the sea, which is inappropriate for photographing from the sea or aligning with a map. Yes, not available.
[0012]
In order to solve such a problem, the present inventors have focused on the fact that it is effective to develop an altitude monitoring device for a coral reef algae bed using a balloon or a small unmanned airship moored directly above an observation ship. , Its development. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to realize a device for monitoring the sky above a coral reef seaweed bed by a balloon or a small unmanned airship, and realizing an aerial photograph map.
[0013]
Further, there are the following basic conditions specific to seaweed beds required for observation of seaweed beds, and satisfying these conditions is also an object of the present invention.
(1) The device should be as quiet as possible so as not to surprise the underwater animals such as dugongs.
(2) The handling is safe. In the case of an aircraft or the like, it is not necessarily safe.
(3) The equipment for observation is easy to handle and does not require special skills. In addition, the frequency of observations increases in consideration of seasonal changes and aging, so that the cost does not increase.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention, in order to solve the above-described problems, an observation ship, a balloon or small airship moored to the observation ship and a data processing device, taking an aerial photograph including the observation ship with the balloon or small airship, A recording apparatus is characterized in that map information is created by the data processing apparatus.
[0015]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention comprises an observation ship, a balloon or small airship moored to the observation ship, and a data processing device.The aerial photograph is taken with the balloon or small airship, and the data processing device An apparatus for creating map information, wherein the balloon or the small airship has an imaging device and a recording device that records an image captured by the imaging device, and the observation ship has a position and a position of the observation ship. It has a device for detecting the direction, a personal computer, and a data recording device, and inputs the detection values obtained by the device for detecting the position and direction of the observation ship to the personal computer, and outputs the data of the position and direction of the observation ship. And the data is stored in the data recording device. The data processing device records the image recorded by the recording device, the position and orientation data of the observation ship stored in the data recording device, and Providing a device to create a map information, characterized in that it is possible to create a map information based on the map coordinates data recorded in the data processing device.
[0016]
The scale of the map information may be calculated by the data processing device from the size of the observation ship in the image captured by the imaging device.
[0017]
From the position of the observation ship and the bow direction, which are reference points determined by a device that detects the position and orientation of the observation ship, an image captured by an imaging device may be applied to a map by the data processing device. .
[0018]
The data processing device corrects the deviation of the photographing device on the map from the deviation between the center point in the image photographed by the photographing device and the position of the observation ship determined by the device for detecting the position of the observation ship. It is good also as a structure which performs.
[0019]
The device for detecting the position and orientation of the observation ship may be a GPS device and a gyro compass device.
[0020]
The GPS may be a DGPS.
[0021]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of an aerial photograph map creation device according to the present invention will be described below based on an embodiment with reference to the drawings.
[0022]
(principle)
The principle of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The present invention is, from above the observation vessel 1 moving in each point _P 1 of the moving _route, P 2 · · · _{P N} (omitted in point _{P N} in FIG. 1), the research ship 1 at the camera image 2 1, 2-2,..., 2-N (2-N is omitted in FIG. 1), and a plurality of (N) images obtained by shooting at each point are taken at shooting positions ( It basically consists of an actual image taken from the sky, pasted and connected to a position on earth coordinates (E (East) -N (North) coordinates in FIG. 1) corresponding to the position of the observation ship 1. Create a map.
[0023]
In this case, if the shooting position and the azimuth of each image are not known, each image cannot be pasted to the corresponding coordinate position in an appropriate direction. In order to solve this problem, in the present invention, a GPS device and a gyro compass device are mounted on the observation ship 1, the position of the observation ship serving as a reference point and the bow direction are determined, and a camera is provided substantially vertically from the observation ship 1. The tethered balloon or small airship is tethered and lifted, and the camera of the tethered balloon or small airship takes a picture of the landscape almost immediately below the observation ship, and the image is taken from the position of the observation ship in the captured image and the bow direction Is obtained and the image is converted into map information. Here, a DGPS device may be used as the GPS device.
[0024]
As another embodiment for solving this problem, in the present invention, a balloon or a small airship equipped with a camera is anchored and lifted almost directly above the observation ship 1, and the balloon or the small airship uses the camera. By photographing the landscape almost immediately below the observation boat 1, the photographing position becomes the same as the position of the observation boat 1. Then, the position of the observation ship 1 may be obtained by the GPS device, and the azimuth of the observation ship 1 may be obtained by the gyro compass device.
[0025]
By the way, if a balloon or a small airship equipped with a camera is directly above the mooring observation ship 1, the position photographed by the camera and the position of the observation ship 1 are the same. The photographing position on the coordinates can be grasped. However, when the balloon or the small airship is displaced from just above the observation ship 1 due to wind or towing during navigation, the observation ship is shifted by that amount (the position of the observation ship 1 balloon or small airship on the horizontal plane). The position obtained by correcting the position 1 may be the position of the balloon or the small airship, that is, the imaging position.
[0026]
Also, the scale of the image can be calculated from the actual size of the observation ship 1, the size of the observation ship 1 in the image, and the height of the balloon or small airship, so that each image has a uniform scale based on the scale. Image processing for enlarging or reducing is performed, thereby making it possible to paste a uniform image of a desired scale on the earth coordinates.
[0027]
(Example)
2 to 6 are diagrams illustrating an embodiment of the aerial photograph map information processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the aerial photograph map information processing apparatus. A balloon 3 that can stay in the sky is tethered to the observation ship 1 via a tether 4. FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the balloon 3 is moored by the mooring line 4, the mooring line 4 is wound by the winch 5, and is brought close to the observation boat 1 and moored.
[0028]
The balloon 3 is composed of a balloon section 6 and a gondola 7, and a specific example of an image of the size is shown in FIG. The balloon 3 can secure a buoyancy of 7 Kg under an external force condition of a use altitude of 1000 m or less and a wind speed of 5 m / s or less, and can be anchored within an inclination of about 15 ° or less around the observation ship. It is about gas volume 12m ^3.
[0029]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing devices mounted on the balloon 3 and the observation ship 1 and their related configurations. The gondola 7 includes at least a digital still camera 8 or a TV camera (hereinafter, referred to as “digital still camera 8”), a recording device 9, an SS radio 10, a power supply 11, and a control device 12.
[0030]
The digital still camera 8 uses a digital camera 8 having about 5 million pixels, and is attached to the lower part of the gondola 7 by a gimbal 13 as shown in FIG. The gimbal 13 is attached to the gondola 7 via a spherical bearing 14, and functions so that the digital still camera 8 is always held vertically and directly below against movement of the gondola 7.
[0031]
The digital still camera 8 is connected to the recording device 9 and the SS radio 10, respectively, and transmits an image photographed from the sky to the recording device 9 and the SS radio 10, respectively. The recording device 9 records the photographed image, sends the photographed image to the SS radio 15 of the observation ship 1 by the SS radio 10, further transmits the photographed image to the data processing device 23, and simultaneously transmits the photographed image to the TV monitor 16. The photographed image can be monitored.
[0032]
The power supply 11 of the balloon 3 uses a lightweight battery such as a lithium battery, and supplies power to the digital still camera 8, the recording device 9, and the SS wireless device 10 via the switch 16. The power supply 11 may be configured to use a special capacitor power supply 11 capable of quick charging. In such a configuration, there is no danger at the time of transportation because the power can be completely discharged. In a normal battery, a high-density battery cannot be discharged for a short time, so a spare battery for replacement is necessary, and the battery has a cycle life. However, if a capacitor power supply is used, this is very long.
[0033]
The control device 12 is connected so as to control the operation of each device such as the SS radio 10, the digital still camera 8, the recording device 9, and the switch 16. Further, the control device 12 operates according to a control signal received by the SS radio device 10 and / or a program for controlling the operation of each of the devices stored in the control device in advance. 8, the recording device 9 and the switch 16 are configured to control respective operations.
[0034]
On the other hand, the observation ship 1 is equipped with a personal computer 17, an input device (keyboard or the like) 18 of the personal computer 17, a gyro compass device 19, a GPS device 20, a data recording device 21, an SS radio device 15, and a TV monitor 22. .
[0035]
In addition, the data processing device 23 may be mounted on the observation boat 1. The data processing device 23 may be provided not at the observation boat 1 but at a laboratory, a base, a department in charge, or the like on the ground. Further, although not shown, the observation ship 1 is provided with a propulsion control device (a device that controls the steering mechanism and the engine of the ship to propell to a predetermined position), a power supply, and the like. Note that the data processing device may be either an offline data processing device or an online data processing device, depending on the usage status.
[0036]
The personal computer 17 receives signals from the input device 18, the gyrocompass device 19, and the GPS device 20, and outputs signals for controlling the operations of the above-described devices mounted on the balloon 3 and the propulsion operation of the observation ship 1, and controls the personal computer 17. It functions as a device.
[0037]
The gyrocompass device 19 detects the azimuth of the observation ship 1 and inputs it to the personal computer 17, and the gyrocompass device 19 normally used for ships may be used. The GPS device 20 is a GPS device 20 for transmitting and receiving to and from a GPS reference station provided on land and constantly grasping and confirming the position of the observation ship 1 on earth coordinates.
[0038]
In addition, if the GPS compass 19 (the GPS compass 19JLR-10 manufactured by Japan Radio Co., Ltd.) incorporating the gyro compass device 19 and the GPS device 20 is used, the position on the earth coordinate of the observation ship 1 and the direction of the bow can be simultaneously obtained. it can.
[0039]
The SS radio device 15 performs transmission and reception with the SS radio device 10 of the balloon 3. The SS radio device 15 receives from the personal computer 17 a signal for controlling the operation of the digital still camera 8 of the balloon 3, the recording device 9 of the balloon 3, and the switch 16, and transmits the signal to the SS radio device 10. The image data captured by the digital still camera 8 from the SS wireless device 10 of the balloon 3 is transmitted to the TV monitor 22.
[0040]
A propulsion control device (not shown) provides steering information and operating speed to a crew or an automatic steering / steering device for navigating (scanning) a target point to be photographed in a target sea area for creating a map. And the like for instructing or outputting information.
[0041]
Specifically, observation point information from the input device 18, azimuth information of the observation ship 1 from the gyrocompass device 19, and position information from the observation ship 1 from the GPS device are input to the personal computer 17. Based on this information, information such as the traveling direction of the observation boat 1 for navigating the target area to be photographed is calculated and output to the propulsion control device 12. Then, based on this information, the propulsion control device 12 calculates numerical values and the like necessary for maneuvering the boat, such as specific steering and operating speed, and outputs the calculated values to the crew or the automatic steering operation device.
[0042]
The data recording device 21 is an external storage device that collects and records data such as the azimuth, position, and traveling direction of the observation ship 1 processed by the personal computer 17. The data collected and stored in the data recording device 21 is sent to the data processing device 23 in response to an instruction signal from the personal computer 17.
[0043]
The data processing device 23 performs image processing of pasting image data of a captured image of the balloon 3 captured by the digital still camera 8 to map information input in advance. The image data recorded by the recording device 9 for the balloon 3 is appropriately recorded on a storage medium (optical storage medium, magnetic recording medium, or the like), taken out when the balloon 3 is collected, and input to the data processing device 23. You. The data processing device 23 has, specifically, an image processing function of a computer.
[0044]
Since the image data obtained by the balloon 3 is basically image data obtained at the position of the observation point of the observation ship 1, this image data is pasted on a point on the map information corresponding to the observation point of the observation ship 1. Just attach it. By the way, the position information of the observation point of the observation ship 1 is arithmetically processed by the CPU of the personal computer 17 based on the information of the gyrocompass device 19 and the GPDS, and is recorded in the data recording device 21.
[0045]
Therefore, the data processing device 23 receives the position information of the observation point of the observation ship 1 from the data recording device 21 and, based on the position information of the observation point of the observation ship 1, converts the image data obtained by the balloon 3 into a map. Paste it on the earth coordinates corresponding to the observation point inside. More specifically, image data obtained by the balloon 3 is synthesized and input to a position corresponding to the observation position of the observation ship 1 on a map screen displaying map information stored in advance in the data processing device 23. paste.
[0046]
As described above, based on the observation ship 1 in which the position and the heading direction of the observation ship 1 are determined by the GPS device 20 and the gyro compass device 19 in the image captured by the digital still camera 8 of the balloon 3, the data processing device 23 It can be attached to map information stored in advance.
[0047]
As described above, if the digital still camera 8 of the balloon 3 is directly above the mooring observation ship 1, the position photographed by the digital still camera 8 and the position of the observation ship 1 are the same. The position of the observation boat 1 processed as a position on the earth coordinates in the above becomes a shooting position, and image data is pasted to this position on a map screen displaying map information stored in advance in the data processing device 23.
[0048]
However, when the balloon 3 is displaced from directly above the observation ship 1, the displacement (the displacement between the position of the observation ship 1 and the balloon 3 on the horizontal plane) is input to the personal computer 17 by the input device 18 and imaging is performed. The position of the observation boat 1 at the time is corrected by the personal computer 17, and the corrected photographing position is input to the data processing device 23, and the image data is pasted to this position as the photographing position.
[0049]
Actually, from the image taken by the balloon 3, a point immediately below the balloon 3 (the center point of the image) and a reference point of the observation ship 1 (a reference point of the observation ship 1 and a reference of the position of the observation ship 1) The position of the observation boat 1 at the time of photographing is corrected by the personal computer 17.
[0050]
In addition, the scale of the image can be calculated from the actual dimensions of the observation ship 1 measured in advance, the dimensions of the observation ship 1 in the captured image, and the height of the balloon 3, and each image is reduced to a uniform scale based on the scale. Image processing for enlarging or reducing is performed so as to make it possible to paste a uniform image of a desired reduced scale on the earth coordinates.
[0051]
As described above, the aerial photograph map creating device according to the present invention has been described by way of the embodiments. However, without being limited to such embodiments, there may be various embodiments within the scope of the technical matters described in the claims. Needless to say.
[0052]
【The invention's effect】
According to the aerial photograph map creating apparatus according to the present invention having the above configuration, since a balloon or a small unmanned airship is used, it is possible to create an image map that is simple, safe, and extremely accurate compared to an aircraft, and in particular, The use of a balloon allows the user to take aerial photographs in a quiet state that does not surprise underwater animals such as dugongs, which is extremely effective for creating image maps of territorial waters that require environmental preservation. Considering changes and aging, the frequency of observations will increase, so the cost will not increase.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the balloon according to the embodiment of the present invention is moored close to an observation ship.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a balloon size image according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating blocks mounted on a balloon and an observation ship according to the present invention and related components.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a mounting structure of the digital still camera according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Observation ship 3 Balloon 4 Mooring cable 6 Balloon unit 7 Gondola 8 Digital still camera 9 Recording device 10 SS radio 11 Power supply 12 Control device 17 Personal computer 23 Data processing device 19 Gyro compass device 20 GPS device

Claims (7)

An observation ship, a balloon or small airship anchored to the observation ship, and a data processing device, taking an aerial photograph including the observation ship with the balloon or the small airship, and creating map information with the data processing device. A device that creates map information characterized by the following. An observation ship, a balloon or a small airship anchored to the observation ship and a data processing device, an aerial photograph taken by the balloon or the small airship, and a device for creating map information by the data processing device,
The balloon has a photographing device and a recording device that records a photographed image photographed by the photographing device,
The observation ship has a device for detecting the position and orientation of the observation ship, a personal computer, and a data recording device,
The detection values obtained by the device for detecting the position and orientation of the observation ship are input to the personal computer, the data of the position and orientation of the observation ship are obtained, and these are stored in the data recording device,
The data processing device is based on the image recorded by the recording device, the position and orientation data of the observation ship stored by the data recording device, and the map information based on the map coordinate data recorded in the data processing device in advance. An apparatus for creating map information, characterized in that a map information can be created. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a scale of the map information can be calculated by the data processing apparatus from a size of the observation ship in an image captured by the imaging apparatus. . From the position and bow direction of the observation ship, which is the reference point of the captured image determined by the device that detects the position and orientation of the observation ship, the image captured by the imaging device is displayed on a map by the data processing device. 4. The apparatus for creating map information according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to apply the map information. The data processing device corrects the deviation of the photographing device on the map from the deviation between the center point in the image photographed by the photographing device and the position of the observation ship determined by the device for detecting the position of the observation ship. The apparatus for creating map information according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein: 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus for detecting the position and the direction of the observation ship is a GPS apparatus and a gyro compass apparatus. 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the GPS is DGPS.

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