Thales

Warody Lombardi

Gilles Genevrier

Sébastien Legoll

An airborne measurement system borne by an aircraft, and comprising a plurality of conventional navigational-aid sensors generating data referred to as conventional data, at least one SPAD camera comprising a single-photon avalanche diode matrix-array detector and generating SPAD data comprising a first image and a second image of a scene to be observed, the system comprising a processing unit connected to the conventional sensors and to the at least one SPAD camera, the processing unit being adapted to: choose, in accordance with a predetermined criterion and on the basis of the conventional data and/or of the SPAD data, a use of the conventional data which is referred to as the conventional mode, or a use of the SPAD data, and possibly comprising conventional data, which is referred to as the SPAD mode, and for the conventional mode, generate measurement information referred to as conventional information on the basis of conventional data, for the SPAD mode: determine, on the basis of the first image and of the second image, an error band for the measurement of the horizontal position of the aircraft, called the protection radius, generate measurement information referred to as reinforced information on the basis of at least SPAD data.

Airborne measurement system comprising a SPAD camera

A method for determining a protection radius of a vision-based navigation system includes at least one image sensor able to produce at least one first image at a first instant and one second image at a second instant; and a processing unit coupled to each image sensor and able to implement a processing method able to determine at least one value of motion between the first instant and the second instant on the basis of the first image, of the second image and of a plurality of image data determined on the at least first and second images; the method comprising the following steps: a first step of determining at least one nominal value of uncertainty of the at least one motion value obtained by the processing method for a set comprising the plurality of image data determined; a second step of determining i-th sub-values of uncertainty of the at least one motion value determined by the processing method for an i-th subset defined by removing an i-th part of the image data determined; a third step of determining an i-th protection radius for the i-th subset on the basis of the i-th uncertainty sub-values and of the at least one nominal uncertainty value; the second and third steps being repeated for each i-th subset, i varying between 1 and a defined value M; a fourth step of determining a protection radius on the basis of the M i-th protection radii determined.

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Valence, France

Warody Lombardi