Distortion correcting sensors for diagonal collection of oblique imagery

摘要

A vehicle collects oblique imagery along an intercardinal nominal heading using rotated camera-groups with distortion correcting electronic image sensors that align projected pixel columns or rows with a pre-determined direction on the ground, thereby improving collection quality, efficiency, and/or cost. In a first aspect, the camera-groups are rotated diagonal to the nominal heading. In a second aspect, the distortion correcting electronic image sensors align projected pixel columns or rows with a pre-determined direction on the ground. In a third aspect, the distortion correcting electronic image sensors are rotated around the optical axis of the camera. In a fourth aspect, cameras collect images in strips and the strips from different cameras overlap, providing large-baseline, small-time difference stereopsis.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
operating a vehicle in a nominal heading; capturing oblique imagery of a surface via one or more respective camera-groups; wherein at least one of the respective camera-groups is oriented at a particular plan angle with respect to the nominal heading and includes at least one distortion correcting electronic image sensor; wherein the particular plan angle is an oblique angle with respect to the nominal heading; wherein the at least one distortion correcting electronic image sensor comprises one or more one-dimensional collections of a plurality of pixel elements; and wherein the at least one distortion correcting electronic image sensor is configured to reduce a difference between the nominal heading and a projection of the one-dimensional collections onto the surface.