JP2009105764A - Camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera system capable of relatively easily obtaining a relation between thermal information and vegetation in a relatively narrow area where it is difficult to grasp the relation using data from a communication satellite. <P>SOLUTION: The camera system 10 comprises a first camera 11, a thermal-infrared camera 12, a near-infrared camera 13, a second camera 14, a GPS device 19, a personal computer 16 as a recording device, a portable video deck 17 and a display device wherein the first camera 11, the thermal-infrared camera 12 and the near-infrared camera 13 are integrally held by a frame to constitute a vertical photographing unit 15, so that three cameras can be simultaneously positioned. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera system that mounts on an aircraft and captures the ground from the sky while sailing, and reproduces the captured images.

At present, it is possible to monitor the natural environment in Japan over a wide area in time series by receiving image data transmitted from the US weather satellite “NOAA”. The spatial resolution of the image data of NOAA is 1.1 km, and detailed information can be obtained compared to that of the Japanese weather satellite “Himawari”, which is about 5 km. Using this information, for example, a normalized vegetation index (NDVI: see, for example, patent literature), which is one index such as the presence / absence / amount of vegetation / activity, can be obtained over a wide area. Here, the normalized vegetation index NDVI is
NDVI = (reflectance in the near infrared region−reflectance in the red region) / (reflectance in the near infrared region + reflectance in the red region)
Defined by

Green leaves of plants absorb wavelengths in the red region and strongly reflect wavelengths in the near infrared region. Taking advantage of the characteristics of this vegetation, the vegetation index can be calculated as described above using the values of the red wavelength (R) and the near infrared wavelength (IR). This normalized vegetation index is useful for evaluating natural environments and phenomena that are closely related to vegetation.
JP 2006-25082 A

  The above-mentioned NOAA image data has a spatial resolution that is too low when grasping the normalized vegetation index in a narrower region.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera system that can relatively easily obtain the relationship between thermal information and vegetation in a relatively narrow area that is difficult to grasp with data from a communication satellite. It is.

  The invention according to claim 1 relates to a camera system that is mounted on an aircraft and images the ground from the sky during navigation. A camera system according to the present invention includes a first camera that captures a vertical image of a point P located vertically below the aircraft that is navigating at a predetermined time by visible light, and a vertical image of the point P by thermal infrared rays. A thermal infrared camera for photographing, a near-infrared camera for photographing a vertical image of the point P by near infrared rays, and a tilted image of a point Q located diagonally forward in the traveling direction of the aircraft at the predetermined time are visible. A second camera that is photographed by light rays, a GPS device that identifies the position of the aircraft during navigation, an image photographed by the first camera, the thermal infrared camera, the near infrared camera, and the second camera; A recording device that records a position of the aircraft on the map based on the GPS device, and a display device that displays information recorded by the recording device. , It is characterized in that.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the camera system according to the first aspect, the display device reproduces a vertical image of the point P photographed by the first camera, the thermal infrared camera, and the near infrared camera, An image taken by the second camera before the predetermined time is played back at the point P.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the camera system according to the first or second aspect, the first camera, the thermal infrared camera, and a frame that integrally holds the near-infrared camera, and the frame that is the aircraft And an attachment for attaching to the aircraft body.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the camera system according to the third aspect, the fixture has an adjustment mechanism for adjusting an attachment angle of the frame.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the camera system according to the fourth aspect, a vibration isolating member is disposed between the frame and the fixture.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the camera system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, a correction position that covers a lens of the thermal infrared camera and the lens for performing automatic environmental reflection correction of the thermal infrared camera A correction cap that takes a retracted position for opening the cover, and an opening / closing mechanism that moves the cap from above the frame to the correction position and the retracted position.

  According to the invention of claim 1, the landform of the ground surface based on the image of the first camera, the temperature of the ground surface based on the image of the thermal infrared camera, the activity of the plant based on the image of the near infrared camera, and the map based on the GPS device Since the upper position and the terrain based on the actual viewpoint from the aircraft based on the second camera can be displayed on the display device and stored in the recording device, these relationships can be comprehensively grasped.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the second camera makes it easy to understand the above-mentioned image by using the bird's-eye view (bird's-eye view) information of the point where the first camera, the thermal infrared camera, and the near-infrared camera are actually photographing.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the angle of the first camera, the thermal infrared camera, and the near infrared camera is easily adjusted in the same direction by attaching the frame to the aircraft body via the fixture. be able to.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the adjusting mechanism can simultaneously adjust the mounting angles of the first camera, the thermal infrared camera, and the near infrared camera with respect to the airframe.

  According to the invention of claim 5, vibrations transmitted from the aircraft body to the first camera, the thermal infrared camera, and the near infrared camera during photographing can be suppressed.

  According to the invention of claim 6, the cap for performing automatic environmental reflection correction can be easily opened and closed from above the frame.

Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each drawing, the member etc. which attached | subjected the same code | symbol are the same structures, The duplication description about these shall be abbreviate | omitted suitably. Moreover, in each drawing, members and the like that are not necessary for the description are omitted as appropriate.
<Embodiment 1>

  A camera system 10 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 shows a helicopter 1 as an aircraft on which the camera system 10 is mounted, in which (a) is a top view, (b) is a left side view, and (c) is a front view. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the shooting direction of each camera mounted on the helicopter 1. Actually, the high-definition image A, the thermal infrared image B, and the near-infrared image C are images taken in the same direction vertically below, but in the figure, in order to distinguish A, B, and C, It is illustrated as follows. FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the installation position of each camera in the cockpit 1b. FIG. 4 is a view of the vertical photographing unit 15 as viewed from below. FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining a fixture 30 for attaching the vertical photographing unit 15, wherein FIG. 5A is a top view, FIG. 5B is a right side view, and FIG. 5C is a rear view. FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which the vertical photographing unit 15 is viewed from below from below the fuselage 1a of the helicopter 1 through the opening window 1d. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the camera system 10. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining how the second camera 14 and the vertical photographing system 15 are attached. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cap and an opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the cap. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a state in which video captured by each camera or the like is displayed on one display device.

  As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 7, the camera system 10 includes a first camera 11, a thermal infrared camera 12, a near infrared camera 13, a second camera 14, a GPS device 19, and a personal computer 16 as a recording device. The portable video deck 17 and the display device 23 are provided, and the first three, that is, the first camera 11, the thermal infrared camera 12, and the near infrared camera 13 are integrated by a frame 20 (see FIG. 3). Thus, the vertical photographing unit 15 is configured as a whole. The first camera 11 and the second camera 14 described above include a storage device (not shown), and the captured video is stored in the storage device as it is. Note that a removable recording medium may be used instead of the storage device. Here, in the present embodiment, the display device 23 is not mounted on the helicopter 1. As will be described later, the display device 23 is used for reproducing and analyzing the video recorded in the recording device or the like, and therefore does not need to be mounted on the helicopter.

A helicopter 1 as an aircraft on which most of the above-described camera system 10 is mounted will be described with reference to FIGS. The helicopter 1 includes a fuselage 1a, a cockpit 1b provided in the fuselage 1a, and legs 1c that support the fuselage 1a. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the cockpit 1 b is provided with a cockpit on the right side and a passenger seat on the left side, and the vertical photographing unit 15, the second camera 14, Further, a personal computer 16 and a portable video deck 17 are arranged on the passenger seat side. As shown in FIG. 6, a transparent opening window 1 d is provided on the lower surface of the fuselage 1 a of the helicopter 1. The opening window 1d is supported by a ring-shaped frame 1g, and the first camera 11, the thermal infrared camera 12, and the near-infrared camera 13 shoot a ground image through the opening window 1d. It has become.
As the first camera 11 constituting a part of the camera system 10, a high-definition camera is used. As shown in FIG. 6, the lens 11a is directed downward with respect to the fuselage 1a of the helicopter 1 in the vertical direction. A high-definition image A (see FIG. 2) of a point P (not shown) vertically downward is visible from the helicopter 1 during horizontal flight by visible light. This captured image is stored in the storage device of the first camera 11. The ground resolution of the first camera 11 is about 18 cm / pixel at an altitude of 1000 feet, and the photographing result can be used in the same manner as a normal aerial photograph. As shown in FIG. 3, the monitor 11b of the first camera 11 is placed on the upper surface of instruments arranged in the center of the cockpit 1b. On the upper surface of the monitor 11b, a GPS device 19 described later is placed. Is placed.

  The thermal infrared camera 12 is arranged in the vertical direction with the lens 12a facing downward with respect to the fuselage 1a of the helicopter 1. The thermal infrared camera 12 is connected to the first camera 11 by thermal infrared rays from the helicopter 1 during horizontal flight. The same thermal infrared image B at point P in the lower vertical direction is taken. The photographed image is stored in the personal computer 16 and displayed on the screen of the personal computer 16 at the same time as photographing. According to the photographing by the thermal infrared camera 12, various things that cannot be seen with the naked eye such as river spring investigation, hot water investigation, and heat island investigation can be conducted. By combining with photographing by the near-infrared camera 13 described below, the relationship between thermal information and vegetation can be seen.

  The near-infrared camera 13 is arranged in the vertical direction with the lens 13a facing downward with respect to the fuselage 1a of the helicopter 1. The near-infrared camera 13 is connected to the first camera 11 by the near-infrared rays from the helicopter 1 during horizontal flight. The same near-infrared image C is taken at the P point vertically below. This captured image is stored in the portable video deck 17 and displayed on the screen of the portable video deck 17 at the same time as shooting. The above-described normalized vegetation index can be obtained by photographing with the near-infrared camera 13. The green leaf of a plant has a characteristic of absorbing the wavelength in the red region (R) of visible light and strongly reflecting the wavelength in the near infrared region (IR). Therefore, by using the characteristics of these plants, it is possible to obtain a vegetation index indicating the presence or absence, the amount, and the activity of the plant. The near-infrared camera 13 has a ground resolution of about 45 cm / pixel at an altitude of 1000 feet.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the above-mentioned three cameras, that is, the first camera 11, the thermal infrared camera 12, and the near infrared camera 13, are positioned by holders 21 that position the vicinity of their respective lower ends, as shown in FIG. As described above, the vertical photographing system 15 is configured as a whole by being integrally held by the rectangular parallelepiped frame 20. The vertical photographing system 15 is attached to the floor portion 1 e of the cockpit 1 b of the helicopter 1 by a fixture 30.

  With reference to FIGS. 5A, 5 </ b> B, 5 </ b> C, and 8, the fixture 30 will be described. The fixture 30 includes an inclined base 31 that is fixed to the floor portion 1e of the cockpit 1b of the helicopter 1, and an adjustment base (adjustment mechanism) 32 that is placed on the upper surface of the inclined base 31 so as to be adjustable. The inclined base 31 has a base plate 33 and a base 34 that is provided upright at the left end and the right end of the base plate 33 and has a wedge shape when viewed from the left side (see (b)). A large circular hole 33a is formed in the bottom plate 33. Further, the base 34 is formed with an overhanging portion 34a that protrudes outward at the upper end so as to extend in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 8, the floor surface 1 e of the cockpit 1 b of the helicopter 1 is formed with an upwardly inclined surface near the portion where the vertical photographing unit 15 is attached. As shown in FIG. 8, the above-described overhanging portion 34 a is fixed when the inclined base 31 is fixed to the floor portion 1 e so that the bottom 33 of the inclined portion 31 is substantially parallel to the floor portion 1 e. It is configured to be almost horizontal. The adjustment base 32 has an upper plate 38 fixed to the upper end of a frame member 35 formed in a frame shape. The upper plate 38 has a large mounting hole 35a having a notch portion 35b for positioning. It is provided. The upper plate 38 is screwed with adjustment screws 36 penetrating the four corners in the vertical direction, and the adjustment screw 36 is rotated to adjust the length of the lower end protruding from the lower surface of the frame member 35. By doing so, the inclination of the adjustment stand 32 with respect to the above-described overhanging portion 34a can be finely adjusted. After finely adjusting the inclination, the adjustment base 32 is fixed to the inclination base 31 by a fixture (not shown). By using the above fixture 30, even if the floor portion 1e of the cockpit 1b of the helicopter 1 is inclined, the first camera 11, the thermal infrared camera 12, the near infrared camera of the vertical photographing unit 15. 13 can be adjusted to a point P directly below the helicopter 1 that is navigating with high accuracy with a single adjustment. Further, an anti-vibration sheet (anti-vibration member) 37 is laid on the upper surface of the upper plate 38. When the vertical photographing unit 15 is attached to the upper plate 38, the anti-vibration sheet 37 is interposed therebetween. Therefore, vibration transmitted from the helicopter 1 to the vertical photographing unit 15 can be suppressed.

  Here, the thermal infrared camera 12 has a function for performing automatic environmental reflection correction. When the emissivity of the object to be measured is low and the temperature is near ambient temperature (room temperature) or low temperature, the reflection component from the surroundings cannot be ignored. In order to cancel this reflection component, a correction signal is set from the inside by directing the detection unit (front of the field of view) to an object that can be regarded as an emissivity of approximately 1.0 corresponding to the ambient temperature, and operating the cancel button (not shown). It is possible to cancel an extra temperature signal entering the measurement object.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a disc-shaped shutter (cap) 22 that can be opened and closed is provided in front of the lens 12 a of the thermal infrared camera 12, and the shutter 22 is opened and closed by an opening and closing mechanism 24. . The shutter 22 is painted black on the inner side 22a (side facing the lens 12a) and has a protrusion 22b in the lateral direction. The opening / closing mechanism 24 has a rod 25 directed in the vertical direction on the rear end side of the frame 20. The rod 25 is rotatably supported by a bracket 20 a protruding rearward from the upper end side and the lower end side at the rear end of the frame 20. Further, the lower end of the rod 25 is fixed to the protrusion 22b of the shutter 22, and the upper end is bent forward to constitute a handle 25a. By swinging the handle 25a about the rod 25, the shutter 22 can be disposed at the closed position A shown in FIG. 9 and the open position (not shown) exposing the lens 22a. When performing automatic environmental reflection correction, the cancel button is pressed while the shutter 22 is disposed at the closed position A and the lens 22a is covered. Thereby, automatic environmental reflection correction can be performed. After the correction is completed, the handle 25a is rotated to move the shutter 22 from the closed position A to the open position, thereby exposing the lens 12a and resuming photographing with the thermal infrared camera 12.

  Since the shutter 22a described above is disposed in a narrow portion between the lens 12a and the opening window 1d shown in FIG. 6, it is difficult to open and close the shutter 22a by inserting a hand into this portion. .

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the opening / closing mechanism 24 as described above is provided so that the shutter 22a can be opened and closed from above the vertical photographing unit 15, so that the shutter 22 can be easily opened and closed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second camera 14 is supported by the holding member 18 in a posture in which a lens (not shown) is directed obliquely downward in the traveling direction. The holding member 18 has three legs 18a installed on the upper surface of the dashboard 1f of the cockpit 1b. These leg portions 18a are configured to be adjustable in length, and the inclination of the holding member 18 can be finely adjusted by adjusting the length. By adjusting the length of the leg portion 18a while the second camera 14 is held by the holding member 18, the lens (not shown) can be directed forward and downward. The second camera 14 is constituted by a high-definition camera, and captures a high-definition image D (see FIG. 2) at a Q point (not shown) diagonally forward and downward with a visible ray from the helicopter 1 during horizontal flight. This point Q will be located below the helicopter 1 during horizontal flight (after several seconds). That is, the helicopter 1 that has passed right above the point P will pass right above the point Q. The second camera 14 can shoot an image when the ground is actually viewed from an aircraft, that is, a so-called aerial video in an easy-to-understand manner, and is optimal for publicity and PR. The second camera 14 has a ground resolution of about 18 cm / pixel at an altitude of 1000 feet as in the first camera 11 described above, and the photographing result can be used in the same manner as a normal aerial photograph.

  The GPS device 19 displays the P point photographed by the vertical photographing unit 15 on the map of the display screen and records the contents thereof, and is disposed on the monitor 11b of the first camera 11 described above. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the display device 23 is photographed by the first camera 11, the thermal infrared camera 12, the near infrared camera 13, and the second camera 14, and is a personal computer 16 as a storage device, a portable video deck 17, and the like. The images A to D stored in the above and the position of the helicopter 1 on the map based on the GPS device 19 can be edited and displayed simultaneously on a display screen (not shown). Thereby, for example, it can grasp | ascertain visually or numerically, contrasting the relationship between the heat information of a specific location (P point), and vegetation. Note that the display device 23 may be disposed in a ground office or the like when the captured video is edited and displayed as a moving image after the flight. Instead of this, it may be mounted on the helicopter 1 to display each video or the like by updating. In this case, the display device 23 displays the image of the P point captured by the first camera 11, the thermal infrared camera 12, and the near infrared camera 13, and the map image of the P point captured by the GPS device 19, and a few seconds ago. The recorded image of the point P photographed by the second camera 14 is displayed at the same time.

1 shows a helicopter as an aircraft on which a camera system is mounted, in which (a) is a top view, (b) is a left side view, and (c) is a front view. It is a figure which shows typically the imaging | photography direction of each camera mounted in the helicopter. It is a perspective view explaining the installation position of each camera in the cockpit. It is the figure which looked at the perpendicular | vertical imaging | photography unit from the downward direction. It is a figure explaining the fixture for attaching the vertical imaging | photography unit 15, (a) is a top view, (b) is a right view, (c) is a rear view. It is a figure which shows the state which looked at the perpendicular | vertical imaging | photography unit from the downward direction through the window part from the downward direction of the body of a helicopter. It is a block diagram of a camera system. It is a schematic diagram explaining the attachment state of a 2nd camera and a perpendicular | vertical imaging system. It is a schematic diagram explaining the cap and the opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing this cap. It is a figure explaining the state which displayed the image image | photographed with each camera etc. with one display apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Helicopter (aircraft)
10 Camera System 11 First Camera 12 Thermal Infrared Camera 13 Near-Infrared Camera 14 Second Camera 15 Vertical Shooting Unit 16 Personal Computer (Recording Device)
17 Portable video deck (recording device)
19 GPS device 20 Frame 22 Display device 30 Mounting tool 31 Tilt base 32 Adjustment base (Adjustment mechanism)
37 Anti-vibration sheet (anti-vibration member)

Claims (6)

In a camera system that is mounted on an aircraft and photographs the ground from the sky while sailing,
A first camera that captures a vertical image of a point P located vertically below the aircraft that is navigating at a predetermined time with visible light; a thermal infrared camera that captures a vertical image of the point P with thermal infrared; and A near-infrared camera that shoots a vertical image of point P using near-infrared rays,
A second camera that captures, by visible light, a tilted image of a point Q located obliquely forward and downward in the traveling direction of the aircraft during navigation at the predetermined time;
A GPS device for identifying the position of the aircraft during navigation;
A recording device for recording images taken by the first camera, the thermal infrared camera, the near-infrared camera, and the second camera, and a position on the map of the aircraft based on the GPS device;
A display device for displaying information recorded by the recording device,
A camera system characterized by that. The display device reproduces a vertical image of the P point photographed by the first camera, the thermal infrared camera, and the near infrared camera, and an image photographed by the second camera before the P point for a predetermined time. Reproduce,
The camera system according to claim 1. A frame that integrally holds the first camera, the thermal infrared camera, and the near infrared camera;
An attachment for attaching the frame to the fuselage of the aircraft,
The camera system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The fixture has an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the attachment angle of the frame.
The camera system according to claim 3. An anti-vibration member is disposed between the frame and the fixture.
The camera system according to claim 4. A correction cap that takes a correction position that covers the lens of the thermal infrared camera and a retracted position that opens the lens in order to perform automatic environmental reflection correction of the thermal infrared camera, and the correction of the cap from above the frame. An opening and closing mechanism that moves to a position and the retracted position,
The camera system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein:

Images