WO1994017635A1

WO1994017635A1 - A line monitoring system

Info

Publication number: WO1994017635A1
Application number: PCT/AU1994/000027
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter John Alexandrovics
Original assignee: Peter John Alexandrovics
Priority date: 1993-01-20
Filing date: 1994-01-20
Publication date: 1994-08-04
Also published as: EP0680682A1; CN1118209A; JPH08506225A; EP0680682A4

Abstract

A device and a method for monitoring a plane in space over an interval of time to create an image representing the time history of the plane in space. A line image sensor (2) captures a series of line images of the plane in space which are converted to digital information by an A/D converter (4) for storage in solid state memory (3). The line image sensor (2) and the storage memory (3) are coupled for synchronous operation so as to maximise the operation rate of the line monitoring system and provide a single means for adjusting the operating rate of the line monitoring system. The series of line images are corrected for perspective distortion. To produce a time history image of the plane in space, the line images can be retrieved from the solid state memory (3) by a computer (7). The computer (7) displays the series of line images adjacent to each other to create the time history image. The present invention has a number of applications, including photo finish cameras.

Description

TITLE

A LINE MONITORING SYSTEM BACKGROUND ART

The present invention relates to a method and a 5 device for monitoring a line. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and a device for monitoring finishing line and producing a photo finish image. At sporting events such as horse racing, greyhound racing and athletic events, it is necessary to

10 obtain a photographic record of competitors crossing a finish line in order to provide a visual record and determine the placing of the competitors and the times at which the competitors cross the line.

One way of obtaining a photographic record is the

15 use of specially designed photo finish cameras which take single continuous photograph over a period of time at the winning line through a slit aperture, rather than through conventional camera aperture. Such a camera has a slit aperture such that the slit aperture produces an image on

20 the film of only the finish line, and not the surrounding areas. As the competitors approach the finish line, the slit aperture is opened and a continuously moving film is passed behind the slit aperture at a fixed rate. As the film travels past the slit aperture and the competitors

25 pass the finish line, a one dimensional image is continuously taken of the finish line over a period of time. The resulting photograph appears similar to a snap shot photograph in time, but is actually a photograph of a time history of the event at the finish line as seen by th

30 line camera. Consequently, not only is it possible to determine which competitor crosses the line first but it i also possible to determine the order in time in which all competitors cross the line from the single photo finish .image.

35 Although such a photo finish system provides significant advantages over a series of still frames, the system uses old technology comprising mainly mechanical components. .Furthermore, it is very .important to minimise the time between taking the photo finish image and the availability of the photo finish image for use, so that officials may be able to determine the finishing order of the competitors as soon as possible. Using the known film technique it is necessary to remove the film from the camera, develop and set the photo finish image before it i useable. If parts of the photo finish image require enlargement in order to determine close-calls, further tim consuming processing is required. During processing .and enlargement the film can distort, which will cause errors in the resultant image. Also, the high speed film require to record a high speed event (usually over 1000 ASA rating) suffers from poor resolution, especially when enlarged, an has only a few different gray shades. .Furthermore, colour film cannot be used in photo finish cameras since colour films take too long to develop and the resolution of high speed colour film is particularly poor.

The advent of video cameras and other electronic means of recording photo finish images to try to overcome at least some of the above problems.. However, these cameras provide unsatisfactory results since video cameras and motion picture cameras take a series of still pictures and the frame rate of these cameras are not sufficiently high to determine the winner in a close call situation, especially when the competitors are travelling very fast.

More recently, charge couple device (CCD) technology has further advanced photo finish systems. For example, EP 86304610.8 (Yamaguchi Cinema Corporation) and AU 57050/90 (Omega Electronics S.A.) disclose two differen implementations of such an electronic photo finish camera. However, these systems have limited capabilities due to th poor resolution of these systems and the need for complicated buffering circuits and the need for regenerating analogue video signals from the digital data. Not only does this decrease the .quality .and accuracy of th picture, but it increases the risk of errors and distortions entering into the .image.

Furthermore, known photo finish cameras suffer from perspective distortion .and do not compensate for thi phenomena. This occurs due to the fact that objects further away from the observer appear smaller than object closer to the observer. Due to the fact that a photo finish system is a point observer of a plane in space, it therefore is subject to the natural phenomena of perspective. Thus in a photo finish image without perspective correction means, it is currently impossible distinguish accurately the distance in space or time alon a running track between two competitors which are at different distances from the observer. For example, in a race in which there is a close call between two competito where one competitor is near the inside barrier and the other competitor is near the outside barrier, perspective distortion through conventional slit apertures makes it technically impossible to determine accurately which competitor is in front. Furthermore, the perspective phenomena causes a distorted picture in photo finish cameras since the competitor most distant from the photo finish camera travels, as observed by the camera, less apparent distanc than a closer competitor. Thus, the photo finish camera records a more blurred image for closer competitors than for more distance competitors .and significant distortion the photo finish .image occurs. This gives competitors ne the camera an actual advantage. Such errors are multipli in electronic photo finish systems since the image is not continuous image, but a series of discrete digitised fram images. In each discrete line image, objects closer to t camera travel, as observed by the camera, a greater distance than more distant objects and during the periods when an image is not being recorded, a larger distance of apparent travel is not recorded for the closer object.

Thus, perspective distortion produce inaccurate pictures which are not true images of the events at the finish lin ■and which may result in incorrect decisions being made in close call situations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to provide an improved line monitoring system which attempts to overcome the above problems.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a line monitoring system for monitoring plane in space, comprising: a line image capture means for capturing a plurality of line images of the plane in space over an interval of time, perspective correction means for perspective correction of the line images, and an image storage means for storing the line images, wherein a perspective corrected image representing a time histoiry of the plane in space is capable of being constructed from the line images stored i the storage means and the perspective corrected image can be displayed on a display means by placing the line images adjacent to each other.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a line monitoring system for monitoring a plane in space, comprising: a line .image capture means for capturing a plurality of line .images of the plane in space over an interval of time, an image storage means for storing the line .images, and synchronisation means for operating the line i age capture means and the image storage means synchronously and to enable adjustment of the operating rate of the line monitoring system, wherein an .image representing a time history of the plane in space is capable of being constructed from the line images stored in the storage means and the image can be displayed on a display means by placing the line images adjacent to each other.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of monitoring a plane in space comprising the steps of: positioning a line image capture means for capturing a plurality of line .images over an interval of time of the plane in space, correcting the line images for perspective distortion, capturing the plurality of line .images over the interval of time .and storing the line images in a digital storage means, constructing perspective corrected t.ime history

.image representing a time history of the plane in space over the interval of time and displaying the t.ime history image on a display means by placing the line images adjacent to each other.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a block diagram of the main components of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2(a) is a top view of a finish line at a .running track having a photo inish camera and Figure 2(b) is a front view of the finish line, Figure ?* is a more detailed block diagram of the preferred embod-iment of Figure 1,

Figure 4(a) is a rear view of the photo finish camera according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and Figure 4(b) is a side view of the photo finish camera of Figure 4(a), and

Figure 5 shows a perspective compensated line sensor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF T.HE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A line monitor system has applications where the occurrence of events in one plane in space is to be recorded over a period in time. For example, in athletic races it is erroneously thought that the race results are determined by the order and times in which competitors cross a "winning line". However, in reality, it is a "winning plane" through which the competitors pass at the end of the race and it is the order and t.imes in which the competitors cross this plane which is used to determine the race results. The side view of such a plane is a line in space and if the line in space is observed over a period of ime, it is possible to create a time history profile of the plane, as seen from its edge.

In the preferred embod.iment of the present invention the line monitor system is a photo finish camera at a winning line. The line monitor system of Figure 1 is a photo finish system 1 having a line .image capture means comprising a CCD (charge coupled device) line camera having line image sensor 2, storage means comprising solid state memory 3, and display means comprising computer 7 having a screen (not shown) . The CCD line image sensor 2 is a one dimensional array of photo sensitive diodes capable of capturing line images. A typical line mage sensor is comprised of a plurality of light sensitive diodes which are positioned in a straight line and which can be aligned with the winning line. The solid state memory 3 is capable of storing images captured by the sensor 2. In order to maximise the rate at which data can be stored and the reliability of the memory, it is preferred that Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) is used for the solid state memory 3. The computer 7 can be used to control the sensor 2 to capture line images or a separate control panel can be provided to control the line monitoring system. The computer 7 can also interact with the solid state memory 3 to view the .images captured by the sensor 2. The computer 7 may control the sensor 2 through sensor controller 6 and the solid state memory 3 is controlled by memory controller 5. As shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), in use, the photo finish system 1 is placed at the winning line 50 inside a winning post viewing box 51 so that the line images taken by the sensor 2 of the photo finish system 1 correspond to the side view of the plane perpendicular to the ground, through with the winning line 50 passes. Competitors passing through the winning line 50 are recorded by the photo finish system 1 as a line image of the winning line plane. When the competitors are in close prox.imity to the finish line, computer 7 readies the sensor controller 6 and the memory controller 5. The memory controller 5 resets the solid state memory 3 to prepare it for receiving line images of the finish line from the sensor 2. Sensor controller 6 initialises the sensor 2 and synchronises the communication of the line .images from the sensor 2 to the solid state memory 3.

When capturing a photo finish image, the sensor 2 detects a line image of the plane in which the winning line is located by a row of photo sensitive diode sensors within the line sensor 2. A series of voltage levels corresponding to the intensity of the light received by each of the photo sensitive diodes is produced. These analog voltage signals from the sensor 2 are sent to an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter 4 which -quantises the voltage output of each diode to a digital value representing one pixel of information in the line image. The sensor controller 6 indicates to the memory controller 5 that an .image is ready to be stored in solid state memory 3, and under control of memory controller 5, the pixels of the line image are stored in the solid state memory 3.

In the preferred embodiment the sensor 2 and the solid state memory 3 operate synchronously so that line images are continually received by the sensor 2 and stored to the solid state memory 3 without the delays caused by conventional asynchronous circuits. This increases the rate at which line images can be captured so that the line images can be captured and stored in real-t.ime.

Furthermore, by simply changing the clock rate, it is possible to change the rate of capturing images since all the sensor 2, the memory 3 and the connecting circuits all operate synchronously. The line i age capturing process i stopped by the computer 7 when enough line .images have bee received to construct a photo finish .image, or if the memory controller 5 stops the process when the solid state memory 3 becomes full.

After completion of the photo finish image capturing process the computer 7 extracts the line images from the solid state memory 3 by instructing the memory controller 5 that it is ready to receive the line images. The memory controller 5 prepares solid state memory 3 for sending the data, and the solid state memory 3 sends the line images pixel by pixel to the computer 7. In another preferred embod-iment of the present invention the computer 7 is able to address the solid state memory 3 directly as memory mapped address. In yet another preferred embod.imen it is also possible to connect the computer 7 directly wit memory 3 for synchronous operation in order to ensure the integrity of the data being passed to the computer 7.

Once the computer 7 has received all the line images it constructs a photo finish image which is a time history of the finish line. This is done by placing the individual line .images side by side on a display, such as on a computer screen, or by printing to a hard copy medium. Once the photo finish image is constructed it is possible to zoom in on specific areas of the photo finish image using the computer 7 to enlarge areas of interest in the photo finish image. It is also possible to improve the image quality using electronic filtering and image processing to improve, for example, the shading and contrast of the .image.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the components of the photo finish camera system of Figure 1 in greater detail. The sensor 2 of the photo finish camera system has a lens 21 which focuses an image of the finish line onto a linear array of photo sensitive diodes 22 which are sensitive to varying light intensities. The photo sensitive diodes are particularly advantageous due to their compactness, ruggedness, low power drain, high resolution, and high sensitivity. Other optical sensors .may be used to achieve similar results.

In the preferred embod.iment of the present invention the computer 7 may be a computer dedicated to controlling the camera and capturing the line .images, or it may be a conventional personal computer which runs appropriate software and which has an interface card fitted to the computer to communicate with the solid state memory and sensor.

When a photo finish image is to be taken, the operator of the photo finish camera system 1 may instruct the computer 7 to control the sensor 2 and solid state memory (in this embodiment being SRAM 27) to capture images of the finishing line. Alternatively, an approach sensor 35 may be used. This sensor 35 is typically connected across the track some short distance before the finishing line and to the computer, so that when the competitors pass the approach sensor 35, the computer 7 instructs the system to commence the age capturing sequence.

Upon instruction to proceed with capturing line images, the computer 7 writes a command to control port 32 that the photo finish capturing sequence is to commence. The control port 32 communicates with memory address controller 28 which resets the static random access memory (SRAM) 27, resets the memory address generation part of the memory address controller 28 and informs frame controller 25 to initialise and instructs the sensor 2 to commence capturing line images. The frame controller 25 initialises the camera b instructing the sensor timing and synchronisation controller 24 to operate the sensor. The sensor timing an synchronisation controller 24 communicates with the photo diodes 22 by sending appropriate t.iming sequences to synchronise the capturing and storage of line images.

The sensor 2 is an analog device which outputs voltage levels corresponding to the light intensity readin of each of the diodes within the photo diode array 22. Th analog voltage signals are sent to a black reference controller 23 where the voltage signals are compared with dark references to calibrate the image in a grey scale, an also to compensate captured data for temperature variations, thereby ensuring fidelity. After compensation the voltage levels are communicated to A/D converter 4. The sensor timing and synchronisation controller 24 indicates to the frame controller 25 when the end of one line .image has been reached and the frame controller 25 communicates this to the A/D converter 4. The A/D converter 4 digitises the analog information so that the light intensity output of each diode is converted to a digital value corresponding to one pixel in the line image. Each of the pixel values is then made available to the SRA

27 through buffer 26. When the first pixel has been captured the frame controller 25 informs the memory address controller 28 tha the pixel is ready for sending to memory. The memory address controller 28 generates an address for the SRAM 27 corresponding to where the pixel information from the A/D converter 4 can be stored. The memory address controller

28 controls the SRAM 27 to behave like an auto-incrementin FIFO stack so that captured pixels of the line images are stored sequentially within SRAM 27. The memory address controller 28 provides a synchronously selected memory address to provide a unique address for the data representing each pixel. The memory address controller 28 may be comprised of a synchronously clocked up/down counte circuit which can be cascaded to accommodate the size of memory being used, eg. a standard 74F193 TTL series building block integrated circuit chip may be used. A cascaded synchronous counter circuit is particularly advantageous in that it can sequentially address each memory location by simply supplying a synchronous control signal with the data presented to the memory. It also allows the ability to pre-load a start address or predetermined address, or allows a zero or reset address t be entered and continuously increment or decrement from that starting address. Thus, the data can be stored in th memory 3 or retrieved form the memory 3 in a sequential manner to maximise the transfer rate and to reduce the ris of intentional or unintentional interference or tampering with the data.

The SRAM 27 may be constructed of a number of individual SRAM chips, with the number of chips depending on the amount of memory required to store the captured .images. The more memories available, the more line .images that can be stored. At present SRAM technology provides the fastest, simplest and most secure form of data storage However, it is to be appreciated that any appropriate memory storage may be used, including DRAM, but this is likely to result in some deterioration in the performance of the system due to slower and more complex technology.

The SRAM chips within the memory are activated by the chip select 29 under control of the memory controller 28. The chip select 29 operates synchronously with the other electronic components such as the SRAM 27 and memory controller 28 to select a specific memory bank of the SRAM 27. The chip select 29 may be .implemented using a serial shift register with parallel outputs, eg. a 74F164 standard TTL series building block integrated circuit chip. The chip select 29 is synchronously clocked via the address controller 28. The chip select can be custom configured according to the actual memory size .implemented .and enables hard-wired switch configurations t be set .

The sensor 2 transfers an analogue signal representing the image to the A/D converter 4 which in tur transfers the signal to a digital signal for communication to buffer 26. The buffer 26 is a digital data bus which buffers or isolates the memory system from the sensor components. However, the synchronous design eliminates th need for the buffer 26 to have temporary storage or latching capability, hence no intermediate storage of data is required and thus realising a true real t.ime recorder o the image, rather than a system with significant built-in delays as a result of buffering.

As soon as a byte of information is available in buffer 26 from A/D converter 4, the frame controller 25 informs write controller 30, which enables the information of buffer 26 to be written to the memory location in SRAM 27 corresponding to the chip and memory location selected by memory address controller 28 and chip select 29. The write controller 30 generates a memory write enable at the beginning of each address selection. It is synchronously locked to the address selection 28 so that a write enable signal is generated with each address which is generated b the memory address controller 28. The write enable signal is a strobe pulse of fixed time width which is custom adjustable on configuration. The timing of this signal is selected such tha its output pulse width corresponds to the minimum write enable allowed for the memory being used. This determines the maximum operating speed of the system. By increasing the time interval between these pulses, it i possible to operate the system at a slower rate. A single input can therefore by used to change the operating rate o the system. The write enable 30 may be implemented using monostable multivibrator circuit commonly known as a "one- shot", such as a 74121, 74123 standard TTL series buildin block integrated circuit chip.

Whilst storing the captured line .image to memory on a pixel by pixel basis, the sensor 2 would have commenced detecting the next line .image of information under control of frame controller 25. The captured images would have been referenced and converted to digital pixel values and made available on buffer 26 ready for storing i memory. This process continues until computer 7 instructs control port 32 to cease capturing .images, or when memory 27 is filled. When the operator instructs the computer to stop capturing images, the computer 7 communicates with control port 32 which is in communication with frame controller 25 and memory address controller 28. Frame controller 25 stops the sensor 2 and memory address controller 28 stops the solid state memory 27 from receiving information from buffer 26.

Once all the necessary line .images have been captured by the sensor and stored into SRAM 27, the line images are read back to computer 7 for further processing. In order to read the captured line images from solid state memory, the computer 7 indicates to the control port 32 to proceed with a read image procedure. Control port 32 resets the memory address controller 28, disabling further writing to solid state memory 27, and commences a procedur to sequentially communicate each pixel of the line images captured by sensor 2 and stored in SRAM 27 to the computer 7 for processing. The pixel data is communicated to data port 33 which is read by the computer 7. Port 33 may also be designed as a memory mapped address in order to improve the speed of the system. Each of the pixel values of the line images is then read in the correct sequence into the computer's memory from the SRAM 27. The read controller 31 generates a memory read enable to read d a from the SRAM 27 to the computer 7. The read controller 31 is synchronously locked to the memory address controller 28 such that as each address is selected for reading the data from the SRAM 27, a read enable signal is generated to the SRAM 27. The operation and implementation of the read controller 31 is similar to the write controller 30. However, the write and read signals require two different sources of synchronisation. The write controller 30 is synchronised with the sensor 2 and the memory 3 whilst the read controller is separately synchronised with the memory 3 and the computer 7. It is to be appreciated that the components of the above described preferred embodiment of the invention have been implemented using standard TTL series building block chips. However, it is possible to implement the present invention using customised integrated circuit designs.

Using the above described synchronisation it is possible for the preferred embodiment of the present invention to operate at the maximum speed possible for this technology and enables a true real-time system to be .implemented.

From the data stored in the SRAM 27 which is read to the computer 7, it is able to reconstruct a time histor profile of the finish line by placing each of the lines of pixels next to each other from right to left. Between eac line of the image there is a discrete and -quantifiable time difference due to sampling effects, and it is therefore possible to accurately determine the t.ime difference between events which occur at the finish line. The image is displayed on display 36, and the operator can zoom into specific areas of the time history profile age by simply enlarging the captured pixels in the area of interest.

At all times the computer 7 is made aware of the status of the solid state memory 27 and the sensor 2 through status port 34 which is connected to both the fram controller 25 and the memory address controller 28.

In order to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the photo finish image, it is necessary to ensure that the sensor 2 is accurately aligned with whichever line has bee defined as the winning line. Figures 4(a), (b) and (c) illustrate the mounting of the sensor 2 and the method of aligning the sensor 2. The photo diode array 22 of the CC line scan sensor 2 is mounted on a carriage 41 on a body 40 of the photo finish system 1 which allows the photo diode array 22 to be moved with respect to the lens by sliding the carriage 41 left and right with respect to the body 40. Also mounted on the carrier spaced from the photo diode array 22 is an opaque ground glass 42. The ground glass acts as a screen onto which an .image of the winning line is projected. This allows a direct visual verification of the alignment of the sensor 2 with the winning line. When aligning the sensor 2 with the finishing line, the carriage 41 is slid to the right so that the ground glass 42 is at the focal point of the lens 21. The photo finish system 1 is then aligned so that an image of the finish line is projected onto the ground glass. The carriage 41 is then slid to the left so that the sensor 2 is in the position where the ground glass 42 was. By fixing the distance between the ground glass and the sensor 2 and moving the carriage 42 by that amount only, it is possible to ensure that the sensor 2 is perfectly aligned with the winning line. The image seen on the ground glass is the image which the sensor 2 sees, rather than a derived image, such as one created with prisms.

According to one preferred embodiment of the present invention it is possible to compensate for the perspective distortion by altering the surface area of the light sensitive diodes in the sensor. This is done by distributing exposure over the sensor elements according to a radial exposure technique. One method of doing this is to place an exposure edge partially over the elements of the sensor, such that all of one element of the sensor at one end is uncovered, but subsequent elements are all covered to a greater extent so that each element appears progressively smaller and smaller. This creates a sensor with a "wedge" appearance. Alternatively, the sensor can be manufactured such that each element's surface area is smaller than its preceding neighbouring element. Such a sensor is illustrated in Figure 5, in which a sensor 2 has and end 61 where the elements 62 are smaller than the elements 62 towards the other end 63. A line monitoring system with the sensor of Figure 5 which is used in a situation as shown in Figure 2(b), would have element 61 at the top and element 63 at the bottom such that the elements 62 are vertically aligned with the winning line 50. As light from the winning line 50 passes through the lens 21, an image of point A of the winning line 50 will be recorded by element 63 and an image of point B of the winning line 50 will be recorded by element 61. Elements intermediate elements 61 and 63 will record images of points which are intermediate points A and B. As a result of the perspective correction feature of the preferred embodiment, a perspective corrected image of the winning line is recorded. Thus, a more realistic image is obtained which provides a more accurate way of determining photo finish situations. A photo finish system using such a perspective correction means avoids the chances of errors occurring in determining the outcome of a close call since the position of a competitor along the winning line does not provide any advantages in respect of the photo finish system.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is particularly advantageous in that it is possible to capture a time history profile of the winning line in real t.ime and store into memory. This provides a picture resolution far greater than that of other known technologies, such as still frame photography and video .images. This speed is particularly achievable due to the development of static solid state memory which is much faster than conventional dynamic memory, and does not require complicated circuits to refresh the memory.

Furthermore, the use of a synchronous circuit in the preferred embodiment of the present invention which locks the sensor 2, memory 3 and associated components into synchronous operation, assists in achieving the highest speed, solid state, high volume memory possible using existing technology. Also, the design allows for a dynamic and variable speed recording of the image independently of the synchronisation of the read operation. This allows the maximum data throughput possible by eliminating any communication protocol handshaking between individual components which slow known systems down and the use of delaying interface buffers which are required to funnel data to the memory at a constant rate. The recording operation is thus independent of the reading operation for reconstructing the image, which can be done at a slower speed, or even asynchronously, since the speed for reading is not always critical.

Another advantage is that the above embodiment overcomes many of the problems of the conventional time history photograph described above which required development and fixing. Using the preferred embodiment of the present invention it is possible to obtain a picture virtually instantaneously and allows a person with very little knowledge of the system to obtain a photo finish photograph and to enlarge areas of interest. It is also possible to produce colour images with a colour sensor, which is not possible with known systems. Furthermore, a greater number of grey shades are available using the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Conventional photo finish cameras have less than 10 grey shades, whilst the present preferred embodiment can distinguish between more than 64 grey shades. The preferred embodiment of the present invention eliminate unwanted complexity to opt.imise efficiency and increase reliability to achieve a high speed, high resolution digital recording equal to or better than known systems in real time. Also, since the line images are stored in digital memory and the photo finish image can be constructed directly from the digital data, it is also possible to save the photo finish image in raw digital form, such as on a floppy disk, for easy communication and further processing in other applications. It will be appreciated that features of the above inventio may be varied for different applications, such as run-out monitors in cricket, line monitors at tennis games, aerial mapping, digital panorama cameras providing up to 360° pictures, digital xerography, etc. The line monitoring system may also be used in manufacturing and production line applications requiring high speed, real-time visual information recording, detection and interpretation. Also, although the preferred embodiment has been described with reference to visual images, it is to be appreciated that the system can be used in, for example, the x-ray, ultra¬ violet or infra-red region of the spectrum.

The foregoing description of embod.iments of the invention have been presented for purposes of illustration only. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the embodiments, and many variations and can be made as would be obvious to one skilled in the art.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A line monitoring system for monitoring a plane in space, comprising: a line image capture means for capturing a plurality of line images of the plane in space over an interval of time, perspective correction means for perspective correction of the line images, and an image storage means for storing the line images, wherein a perspective corrected image representing a time history of the plane in space is capable of being constructed from the line images stored in the storage means and the perspective corrected image can be displayed on a display means by placing the line images adjacent to each other.

2. A line monitoring system according to cla.im 1, wherein the line image capture means comprises a line .image sensor for producing an analog signal representing the line .images.

3. A line monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the line image sensor comprises a charge coupled device (CCD) having a plurality of light sensitive elements arranged in a straight line.

4. A line monitoring system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the perspective correcting means is adapted such that a wider image is observable by the line image capture means of objects crossing the plane which are more distant from the line image capture means than object crossing the plane which are nearer the line image capture means.

5. A line image system according to claim 4, wherein the perspective correction means is comprised of a slit having two non-parallel edges in the same plane.

6. A line monitoring system according to claims 3 and 4, wherein the light sensitive elements are positioned in a single vertical column and the perspective correcting means comprises an exposure edge which partially obscures the light sensitive elements, each element being obscured more than one adjacent element.

7. A line monitoring system according to claims 3 and 4, wherein the perspective correcting means is comprised of the light sensitive elements each having a different surface area, such that each element is smaller than one adjacent element, the light sensitive elements being positioned in a single vertical column.

8. A line monitoring system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a converter means for digitising the line .images.

9. A line monitoring system according to claim 8, wherein the converter means comprises an analog to digital converter for converting the analog signal into digital data.

10. A line monitoring system according to claim 9, wherein the storage means comprises solid state memory for storing the digital data produced by the analog to digital converter.

11. A line monitoring system according to claim 10, wherein the solid stat memory comprises static random access memory.

12. A line monitoring system according to claim 2 further comprising a body, and the line image capture means further comprising a lens mounted on the body for focusing a line in space, being a side view of the plane in space, on the line image sensor, emd an exposure edge on the body for aligning the line monitoring system to the plane in space.

13. A line monitoring system according to claim 12, further comprising a carriage onto which the line image sensor is mounted, wherein the carriage is movable with respect to the body so as to align the line image sensor with the plane in space.

14. A line monitoring system according to claim 13, wherein a ground glass is mounted on the carriage at a predetermined distance relative from the line image sensor, such that an image of the line in space can be formed on the ground glass when the carriage is in a first position, so as to provide a direct visual verification of the line images, and the line image sensor is aligned with the line in space when the carriage is in a second position, the second position being the predetermined position away from the first position.

15. A line monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the line image capture means comprises a control means for controlling the image sensor and providing timing signals for synchronising the image sensor with the storage means.

16. A line monitoring system according to claim 10, wherein the storage means comprises a memory address control means for generating an address at which the digital data is to be stored in the solid state memory and generating a write signal and chip select signal such that the digital data is stored in the solid state memory.

17. A line monitoring system according to claim 16, wherein the memory address control means controls the solid state memory to create a FIFO auto-incrementing stack to store the digital data sequentially so as to protect the integrity of the digital data.

18. A line monitoring system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the line image capture means and the storage means are coupled for synchronous operation so as to maximise the operation rate of the line monitoring system and provide a single means for adjusting the operating rate of the line monitoring system.

19. A line monitoring system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the display means comprises a computer capable of interfacing with the storage means so as to retrieve the line .images stored in the storage means and a display device onto which such retrieved line images are displayed adjacent to each other to generate the two- dimensional .image.

20. A line monitoring system for monitoring a plane in space, comprising: a line image capture means for capturing a plurality of line images of the plane in space over an interval of t.ime, an image storage means for storing the line .images, and synchronisation means for operating the line image capture means and the image storage means synchronously and to enable adjustment of the operating rate of the line monitoring system, wherein an image representing a ime history of the plane in space is capable of being constructed from the line images stored in the storage means and the mage can be displayed on a display means by placing the line images adjacent to each other.

21. A method of monitoring a plane in space comprising the steps of: positioning a line image capture means for capturing a plurality of line images over an interval of time of the plane in space, correcting the line images for perspective distortion, capturing the plurality of line images over the interval of time and storing the line images in a digital storage means, constructing perspective corrected time history image representing a time history of the plane in space over the interval of time and displaying the time history .image on a display means by placing the line images adjacent to each other.

22. A method according to cla.im 21, wherein the line .image capture means produces an analog signal representing the line images and the analog signal is converted to digital data for storage in the digital storage means.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein the time history image is produced by retrieving the digital data from the storage means and displaying the line images represented by the digital data on a display device by placing consecutive line images adjacent to each other on the display device.

24. A method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, wherein the line image capture means is positioned to capture the line images of the plane in space by placing a ground glass at a location to produce a focusing image of the plane in space on the ground glass and then positioning the line image capturing means at the location.