US 12,217,444 B2
Method for measuring the topography of an environment
Ciaran Hughes, Tuam (IE); Pantelis Ermilios, Tuam (IE); Matthias Lenk, Tuam (IE); and Sunil Chandra, Tuam (IE)
Assigned to CONNAUGHT ELECTRONICS Ltd., Tuam (IE)
Appl. No. 17/784,896
Filed by Connaught Electronics Ltd., Tuam (IE)
PCT Filed Dec. 8, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/085023
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 13, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/116078, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 17, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 10 2019 134 324.0 (DE), filed on Dec. 13, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0351625 A1, Nov. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. G06T 7/579 (2017.01); G06T 7/593 (2017.01); H04N 13/221 (2018.01); H04N 13/243 (2018.01)
CPC G06T 7/579 (2017.01) [G06T 7/593 (2017.01); H04N 13/221 (2018.05); H04N 13/243 (2018.05); G06T 2207/10028 (2013.01); G06T 2207/20021 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30252 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for forming a point cloud corresponding to the topography of an imaged environment comprising:
acquiring a first image of the environment with a camera having a wide field of view lens mounted on a vehicle;
changing the camera pose by an adjustment that is more than a threshold;
acquiring a second image of the environment with the camera at the changed pose;
mapping the first image onto a first surface to form a first mapped image;
mapping the second image onto a second surface to form a second mapped image, the first surface and the second surface being defined by the same non-planar geometry,
wherein the non-planar geometry defines a cylindrical surface and is symmetric about an optical axis of the camera,
wherein the non-planar geometry comprises:
a first non-planar surface; and
a second non-planar surface, the first non-planar surface extending from the camera to the second non-planar surface, and the second non-planar surface converging from the first non-planar surface towards the optical axis;
dividing the one of the first or second mapped images into blocks of pixels;
for each block of pixels, forming a depth map by performing a search through the other of the first or second mapped images to evaluate a disparity in the position of the location of the block of pixels in each of the mapped images;
converting the depth map into a portion of a point cloud corresponding to the local topography of the environment surrounding the vehicle as it moves through the environment; and
scaling the point cloud according to the adjustment in camera pose.