The Boeing Company

Charles Robert Kreienheder

Gregory Lloyd Sheffield

Aaron Y Mosher

Gregory L Sheffield

A method and apparatus for controlling a set of sensor platforms. The apparatus comprises a map manager and a controller. The manager creates a visibility map for an area of interest for a set of sensor platforms. The map manager further updates the visibility map over time while the set of sensor platforms monitors the area of interest. The controller controls a route of each of the set of sensor platforms using the visibility map.

Coordinating sensor platforms performing persistent surveillance

A computing device for detecting an object of interest in an image is provided. The computing device includes a memory device and a processor to process image data by evaluating pixel contrast to facilitate detecting an edge transition in an image, by identifying neighboring pixels that are above a predetermined contrast value, which represent a potential object of interest, filtering the pixels based on color information to identify areas where there is a color edge transition, applying a convolution filter mask to yield regions of pixels having a localized concentration of contrast and color changes, applying a threshold filter for identifying those pixel regions having values that are greater than a predetermined threshold value and grouping the identified pixel regions into one or more groups representing an object of interest, and generating an alert to notify an operator that the object of interest in the image has been detected.

Growing community of inventors

Kirkwood, MO, United States of America

Charles Robert Kreienheder