The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 06, 2005
Filed:
Jan. 07, 2002
Matthew D. Nixon, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Rohan Loveland, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Matthew D. Nixon, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Rohan Loveland, Albuquerque, NM (US);
The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US);
Abstract
A passive, real-time obstacle detection system is provided that determines the presence of small, curvilinear objects such as power lines. The system generally comprises a payload system having an infrared image detection system, a crew interface having a display for the images, and software algorithms that perform image processing on the pixel images. The software algorithms employ Cellular Automata (CA) techniques to resolve the direction vectors of sub-pixels, and as such, line segments are produced that are subsequently linked for display to the flight crew. The CA techniques are further based on the 'Game of Life' model, wherein local rules are used to determine how pixels evolve, or propagate along a line. The linked lines are then displayed for the flight crew so that evasive maneuvers can be performed as necessary.