JP2003156330A - Airborne topography-measuring apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simultaneously acquire information about the height, reflection intensity, and colors, and to process data that are related to position coordinates obtained by laser measurement. SOLUTION: There are provided a laser sensor 1, a line sensor camera 2, an attitude angle sensor 4, a GPS 5, a control means 21 for controlling the laser sensor 1, the line sensor camera 2, and a scanner 3, a data-recording means 22 for recording measured data, and a data-processing means 23 for processing the measured data. The data processing means 23 performs data processing on aircraft position information 6 by the GPS 5, aircraft oscillation information 7 by the posture angle sensor 4, laser ranging value 8 and reflected intensity information 10 by the laser sensor 1, a scanner scanning angle 9 by the scanner 3, color information 11 by the line sensor camera 2 for superimposing as the information on the coordinates position of a point, where height information 17, the reflection intensity information 10, and the color information 11 are measured.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a landform measuring apparatus, and more particularly to an airborne landform measuring apparatus for mounting a laser sensor and a line sensor camera on an aircraft.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is known to mount a laser sensor on an aircraft such as a fixed wing aircraft or a helicopter to measure the terrain.
No. 63 bulletin has been implemented so far. However, only the laser sensor used so far can obtain only height information.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for superimposing image (color) information represented by aerial photographs on this height information. In the conventional methods, the height is read from a stereo photograph or a laser sensor is used. Separately from JP-A-11-232
As described in Japanese Patent No. 63, the image information and the height information have been superimposed through a time-consuming work such as superimposing position height information measured by a laser on image data captured by a video camera.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-23263, the reflection intensity information of the laser is also obtained and used for the discrimination of the power transmission line and the tree. However, as in the present invention, the reflection intensity information is used as an active near infrared image. It is not used in the treatment.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, in a sensor equipped with a laser sensor and a line sensor camera at the same time, height information at the laser sensor while flying in an aircraft and reflection intensity information that can be acquired in synchronization with the height information are obtained. An aircraft that can acquire height information, reflection intensity information, and color information at the same time by simultaneously acquiring color information from a line sensor camera, and quickly process each information as data associated with the position coordinates obtained by laser measurement. An object is to provide an onboard terrain measurement device.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of an aircraft-mounted terrain measuring apparatus according to claim 1 is such that a laser sensor for scanning a laser beam using a scanner and a light receiving element are arranged. And a line sensor camera using a line sensor, wherein the laser sensor scans the same range as the angle of view of the line sensor camera to measure the laser distance from the aircraft to the ground surface and the reflection from the ground surface. Intensity information and a scanner scanning angle by the scanner are measured, and the line sensor camera measures color information from the ground plane in synchronization with a scanning frequency of the scanner.

Further, the invention of an aircraft mounted terrain measuring apparatus according to claim 2 is a laser sensor for scanning a laser beam using a scanner, a line sensor camera using a line sensor in which light receiving elements are arranged, and an aircraft Attitude angle sensor that measures the angle of the aircraft, GP including antenna and receiver
S, the laser sensor, the line sensor camera, control means for controlling the scanner, the laser sensor,
The line sensor camera, the scanner, the attitude angle sensor, a data recording unit for recording measurement data from the GPS, and a data processing unit for processing the measurement data, wherein the GPS is the aircraft position of the aircraft. Information is measured, the attitude angle sensor measures aircraft motion information of the aircraft, the laser sensor, a laser ranging value representing the distance from the aircraft to the ground surface and the reflection intensity information from the ground surface. Measurement, the scanner measures the scanner scanning angle, the line sensor camera measures the color information from the ground plane, the data processing means,
The aircraft position information, the aircraft motion information, the laser distance measurement value, the height information obtained from the scanner scanning angle,
It is characterized in that the reflection intensity information and the color information are superimposed as information on the coordinate position of the measured point.

Further, the invention of an aircraft mounted terrain measuring apparatus according to a third aspect is a scan surface in which the laser sensor and the line sensor camera according to the first or the second aspect are scanned by the scanner. And the plane of view angle of the line sensor camera are arranged in parallel with each other, and the rotation axis of the scanner and the center of view angle of the line sensor camera are arranged on a straight line.

Further, in the invention of an aircraft-mounted terrain measuring apparatus according to a fourth aspect, the laser sensor according to the first or the second aspect is arranged so that the laser beam is perpendicular to the traveling direction of the aircraft. While measuring the laser ranging value from the aircraft to the ground surface and the reflection intensity information from the ground surface while scanning, the line sensor camera, by the laser sensor at a frame rate synchronized with the scanning of the laser light. The color information is measured simultaneously with the measurement.

Further, the invention of an aircraft-mounted terrain measuring apparatus according to claim 5 is the aircraft position information according to claim 2, the aircraft motion information, the laser distance measurement value, and the reflection intensity information. The scanner scanning angle and the color information are simultaneously measured.

Further, the invention of an onboard terrain measurement method according to claim 6 uses a laser sensor for scanning a laser beam using a scanner, and a line sensor camera using a line sensor in which light receiving elements are arranged. A method for measuring landforms mounted on an aircraft, wherein coordinates of a measurement point at the laser distance measurement value with an aircraft as a reference origin are calculated based on a laser distance measurement value measured by the laser sensor and a scanner scanning angle by the scanner. Step and for the coordinates,
Using the aircraft position information measured by the GPS provided in the aircraft and the aircraft motion information measured by the attitude angle sensor provided in the aircraft, the absolute position coordinates of the measurement point are obtained.
A step of obtaining X, Y, Z coordinates of the measurement point based on the laser distance measurement value; and color information measured by the line sensor camera, which corresponds to the scanner scanning angle when the laser distance measurement value is measured. Allocating pixels of a line sensor camera, and X, Y of the measurement point at which the reflection intensity information and the color information measured by the laser sensor when measuring the laser distance measurement value are obtained from the laser distance measurement value. A step of associating with the coordinates, and a step of superimposing the height information, which is the Z coordinate of the measurement point, the reflection intensity information, and the color information on the X and Y coordinates of the measurement point. .

According to a seventh aspect of the invention of an aircraft-mounted terrain measurement method, the color information associated with the X and Y coordinates of the measurement point according to the sixth aspect is processed to make a visible ortho image. Characterized by obtaining an image.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS << Outline of the Invention >> First, an outline of the present invention will be described. In the present invention, a one-dimensional scanning type high repetition laser sensor and a line sensor camera are mounted on an aircraft such as a fixed wing aircraft and a helicopter, and height information by a laser sensor, reflection intensity information and color information by a line sensor camera are provided while flying. Can be acquired at the same time. The absolute position and sway of the aircraft in flight is detected using GPS and attitude angle sensors. The absolute position and height on the ground measured from the data of the laser sensor can be obtained based on the absolute position of the aircraft detected by GPS and the attitude angle sensor, and the reflection intensity information and the color information can be easily obtained on the absolute position on the ground. Can be superimposed on. in this way,
It is possible to obtain each information at the same time and to create a three-dimensional image using height, reflection intensity, and color information with easy data processing. It is possible to distinguish between vegetation such as trees and artificial structures by the difference in reflectance, and by combining it with color information, not only a three-dimensional image but also vegetation and structures from the image information Is characterized in that

<< Principle of the Invention >> FIG. 1 shows the principle of the present invention. Using a laser sensor 1, a scanner 3, a line sensor camera 2, an attitude angle sensor 4, and a GPS 5 (these may be referred to as sensors), aircraft position information 6, aircraft motion information 7, laser distance measurement value 8, scanner scanning The angle 9, the reflection intensity information 10, and the color information 11 are acquired (measured).

The laser sensor 1 outputs laser light 16
Is one-dimensionally scanned by the scanner 3 and the laser beam 16 is scanned in the scanner scanning range 13 which is the same range as the angle of view 12 of the line sensor camera 2 to obtain a laser distance measurement value 8 which is a distance to the ground surface 14. The measurement is performed, and the reflection intensity information 10 from the ground surface 14 is also measured. At the same time as the laser distance measurement value 8 and the reflection intensity information 10, the scanner scanning angle 9 at the time of the measurement
Get the data of.

The line sensor camera 2 acquires the color information 11 as information from the ground surface 14 in synchronization with the scanning frequency of the scanner 3. The aircraft position information 6 is GPS5.
Then, the aircraft motion information 7 is acquired by the attitude angle sensor 4, respectively. Acquired aircraft position information 6 and aircraft motion information 7
Based on the laser distance measurement value 8 and the scanner scanning angle 9, the position height information (that is, the X, Y, Z coordinates shown in FIG. 3) of the point measured by the laser sensor 1 can be obtained, and the position information (that is, the position information) , X- and Y-coordinates shown in FIG. 3), the reflection intensity information 10 and the color information 11 can be superimposed.

In the sensor head portion 19, the laser sensor 1
So that the scan surface scanned by the scanner 3 is parallel to the plane of the field angle 12 of the line sensor camera 2, and the rotation axis of the scanner 3 and the center of the field angle 12 of the line sensor camera 2 are aligned on a straight line. Each sensor is arranged as follows. By doing so, the laser beam 16 is scanned in the scanner scanning range 13 (see FIGS. 1 and 3) to obtain the laser distance measurement value 8 and the color information 11 acquired by the line sensor camera 2.
It is possible to make the lines on the ground plane parallel to each other and to measure in the same range in the scanning direction.

By arranging the sensor head portion 19 at the lower part of the aircraft toward the ground surface 14, it is possible to obtain three-dimensional data as the aircraft flies. The GPS 5 and the attitude angle sensor 4 acquire the absolute position (aircraft position information 6) and the motion (aircraft motion information 7) of the airframe due to the flight of the aircraft. After the measurement is completed, the data of each sensor is taken out from the data recording unit 22 in the control unit 20 (see FIG. 2) arranged inside the aircraft, and the tertiary data shown in the height information 17 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) by the data processing device 23. The original terrain shape data and the reflection intensity information 10 and the color information 11 superimposed on the original terrain shape data can be obtained. That is, the three-dimensional topographical information 15 is obtained.

<< Structure of Embodiment >> FIG. 2 shows the structure of an embodiment of the present invention. It is roughly divided into a sensor head unit 19, a control unit 20, a data processing device 23, and a GPS 5.

The sensor head unit 19 includes a one-dimensional scanning type high repetition laser sensor 1, a line sensor camera 2 using a line sensor having light receiving elements arranged in a straight line, a scanner 3 for one-dimensionally scanning a laser beam 16, An attitude angle sensor 4 for measuring angles of the aircraft body such as a roll angle, a pitch angle, and an azimuth angle is arranged and mounted on the aircraft toward the ground surface 14.

The control unit 20 includes a laser sensor 1, a control unit 21 (control means) for controlling the line sensor camera 2 and the scanner 3, a laser sensor 1, a line sensor camera 2, a scanner 3 and an attitude angle sensor 4. It is composed of a data recording unit 22 (data recording means) for recording the measurement data acquired by the GPS 5 and is arranged inside the aircraft.

Data processing device 23 (data processing means)
Is placed on the ground and performs three-dimensional processing of the measurement data recorded by the data recording unit 22. The data processing device 23
It may be placed inside the aircraft as necessary, or the functions may be divided and placed on the ground and inside the aircraft.
If there is enough volume and weight, it can be easily placed inside the aircraft.

The GPS 5 has a GPS antenna section mounted on the upper part of the aircraft and a GP for receiving GPS satellite radio waves.
And an S receiver.

<< Operation of the Embodiment >> FIG. 3 shows a sensor head unit 19 and a control unit 20, which are the main components of the present apparatus, for an aircraft (in FIG. 3, a helicopter is shown, but the following description will be made as an aircraft). The image figure which mounts and measures the ground surface 14 is shown. FIG. 4 is a processing flow of acquired data (measurement data), and FIG. 5 is a superposition diagram in which each information is superposed on two-dimensional plane coordinates.

The sensor head portion 1 arranged at the lower part of the aircraft
In 9, the laser beam 16 output from the laser sensor 1 is scanned by the scanner 3 in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the aircraft (Y-axis direction shown in FIG. 3), and the laser distance measurement value 8 and the reflection intensity information 10 to the ground surface 14 are measured. (The reflection intensity of the laser beam 16 applied to the ground surface 14) is acquired, and the line sensor camera 2
At the same time as the data acquired by the laser sensor 1, the color information 11 is acquired as information from the ground surface 14 at a frame rate synchronized with the scanning of the laser light 16.

The laser sensor 1 and the line sensor camera 2 mounted on the sensor head unit 19 both acquire data on a one-dimensional line. However, as the entire apparatus of the present invention, the aircraft flies in the traveling direction. , Can be obtained as information on a two-dimensional plane. The sensor head unit 19 and the control unit 20 for recording the control and the acquired data are a control unit 21 disposed inside the aircraft and inside the control unit 20, and the laser sensor 1 and the line sensor camera 2 of the sensor head unit 19 are provided. , And controls the operation of each sensor such as the scanner 3. The attitude angle sensor 4 is used to detect the sway (that is, the aircraft sway information 7) while the aircraft is in flight, and the absolute position (that is, the aircraft position information 6) of the aircraft is arranged on the upper part of the aircraft.
Acquire with PS5.

The aircraft position information 6, the aircraft motion information 7, the laser ranging value 8, the scanner scanning angle 9, the reflection intensity information 10, and the color information 11 shown in FIG. Or called measurement data)
Is recorded in the data recording unit 22 in the control unit 20 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the measurement data is processed by the data processing device 23 arranged on the ground separately from the equipment mounted on the aircraft as shown in the processing flow shown in FIG.
First, based on the laser distance measurement value 8 and the scanner scanning angle 9, the coordinates of the measurement point at the laser distance measurement value 8 with the aircraft as the reference origin are obtained (S1). The absolute position coordinates (for example, longitude (E), latitude (N), altitude (H)) of the measurement point can be obtained by using the aircraft position information 6 and the aircraft motion information 7 for these coordinate values. At this point, the X and Y coordinates of the measurement point by the laser distance measurement value 8 and the Z coordinate which is the height information 17 can be obtained (S2).

The reflection intensity information 10 can be processed in the same manner as the color information 11, but the feature of the reflection intensity information 10 is that the reflection intensity of the laser beam 16 is acquired, so that it is visible like the line sensor camera 2. It is not affected by the shadow that appears in the image, and can be acquired as an active near-infrared image even at night.

Regarding the color information 11, based on the scanner scanning angle 9 when the laser distance measurement value 8 is acquired, the pixel of the line sensor camera 2 corresponding to the angle is assigned to obtain the color information 11 on the coordinates. (S3). Reflection intensity information 10
Is the same laser sensor 1 when acquiring the laser ranging value 8.
Data associated with the X and Y coordinates of the measurement point obtained from the laser distance measurement value 8 (S4), and is one-to-one correspondence with the height information 17 (Z coordinate). At the same time, the color information 11 is also associated with the X and Y coordinates of the measurement point (S4). (That is, the reflection intensity information 10, the color information 11, and the height information 17 correspond to the X and Y coordinates.) Each information thus obtained measures the ground surface 14 as shown in FIG. As a result, the two-dimensional plane coordinates 18 are superimposed on the coordinates of the measurement point (that is, X, Y of the measurement point).
The height information 17, the reflection intensity information 10, and the color information 11 are superimposed on the coordinates (data) (S5). As a result, the measured data can represent not only a three-dimensional image drawn based on the height information 17 but also a reflection intensity image and a color image, and the height information 17 (Z coordinate) and the color information 11 are combined. By converting the image into a three-dimensional image, a three-dimensional image with a color like a three-dimensional photograph can be obtained.

In the reflection intensity information 10, the reflectances of vegetation such as trees and artificial structures on the ground are the reflectances of vegetation and structures shown in FIG. 6 in the visible region and near infrared region. As shown, for example, grass, concrete, asphalt, etc. can be distinguished because there is a significant difference depending on the object. Not only can it be converted into a three-dimensional image together with the color information 11, but the ground measured from the information of the image. It is possible to determine whether the object existing on the upper surface 14 is a vegetation or a structure.

Further, the reflection intensity information 10 is the ground surface 14
The reflection intensity of the laser light 16 applied to the object is acquired. Unlike a visible camera, the reflection of the laser light 16 from the ground surface 14 can be measured and data can be acquired even in a dark environment at night. Therefore, the measurement of the near-infrared image at night can be realized. Further, even when the measurement is performed in a bright environment in the daytime, there is a portion where the shadow of the building due to the sun appears in the visible camera and the image does not appear dark. However, when the image is created with the reflection intensity information 10, the image is emitted from the device. Because it uses the reflection of the laser light 16
It is possible to obtain a shadowless image that is not affected by the shadow of the sun. It is possible to identify the situation on the ground due to differences in reflectance such as roads, trees, buildings, etc., and it is also possible to identify things that cannot be identified by the height information 17 such as the center line and pedestrian crossings of roads that are drawn with white lines. it can.

The color information 11 acquired by the line sensor camera 2 is information capable of creating a visible image. In aerial photography, which has been performed with visible image acquisition, the image that appears in the image collapses toward the edges of the photograph, resulting in a lagging image of buildings. In aerial photography, it is a very time-consuming task to correct the height by correcting the height of the height information 17 by taking a stereoscopic image and correcting it to obtain an ortho (orthographic projection) image viewed from directly above. Reading was a task that required skill. According to the present invention, by acquiring the color information 11 of the position coordinates, the color information 11 of each coordinate of the ground surface 14 can be obtained. As a result, it is possible to obtain a visible image as an ortho image without collapse of the image as in an aerial photograph. Here, the ortho image is an image obtained by correcting the distortion due to the position and inclination of the line sensor camera 2 and performing orthographic projection.

[0034]

The first effect is that the height information, the reflection intensity information, and the color information at the measurement point on the ground can be acquired as synchronized information at the same time in a single flight measurement operation. Therefore, the height information, the reflection intensity information, and the color information can be easily superimposed on the position coordinates of the measurement point in a short time by data processing on the ground. By applying each information to the position coordinates, it is possible to image on a two-dimensional plane, and by superimposing height information and reflection intensity information, or height information and color information, three-dimensional information with only height information. It is possible to obtain not only an image but also a three-dimensional image having a height and a reflection intensity, and a color (visible) having a height.

The second effect is that the color information of each coordinate on the ground surface can be obtained by acquiring and processing the position coordinate information based on the aircraft position information and the aircraft motion information and the color information of the position coordinate. As a result, it is possible to obtain a visible image as an ortho image without collapse of the image as in an aerial photograph.

The third effect is that since height information is superimposed on each position coordinate together with color information, it is possible to easily create a three-dimensional stereoscopic photograph.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration of an example.

FIG. 3 is an image diagram in which a sensor head unit and a control unit are mounted to measure the ground surface.

FIG. 4 is a processing flow of acquired data.

FIG. 5 is a superposition diagram in which each information is superposed on two-dimensional plane coordinates.

FIG. 6 is the reflectance of vegetation and structures.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 laser sensor 2 line sensor camera 3 scanner 4 Attitude angle sensor 5 GPS 6 Aircraft position information 7 Aircraft motion information 8 Laser distance measurement 9 Scanner scan angle 10 Reflection intensity information 11 color information 12 angle of view 13 Scanner scanning range 14 Ground surface 15 Three-dimensional topographical information 16 laser light 17 Height information 18 two-dimensional plane coordinates 19 Sensor head section 20 Control unit 21 Control unit 22 Data recording section 23 Data processing equipment

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 5B050 AA01 BA02 BA17 DA04 EA09                       EA19 EA28                 5B057 CA01 CA08 CA12 CA16 CB01                       CB08 CB13 CB17 CD14 CE08                       CE16                 5J084 AA04 AA05 AA10 AA13 AA20                       AC04 AD01 AD05 BA03 BA34                       BA39 BA48 EA05 EA11

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A laser sensor for scanning a laser beam using a scanner, and a line sensor camera using a line sensor in which light-receiving elements are arranged, the laser sensor having an angle of view of the line sensor camera. The same range is scanned to measure the laser ranging value from the aircraft to the ground surface, the reflection intensity information from the ground surface, and the scanner scanning angle by the scanner, and the line sensor camera synchronizes with the scanning frequency of the scanner. A terrain measuring device mounted on an aircraft, which measures color information from the ground surface. 2. A laser sensor for scanning a laser beam using a scanner, a line sensor camera using a line sensor in which light receiving elements are arranged, an attitude angle sensor for measuring an angle of an airframe of an aircraft, an antenna and reception. GPS including machine
And control means for controlling the laser sensor, the line sensor camera, and the scanner, and data recording means for recording measurement data from the laser sensor, the line sensor camera, the scanner, the attitude angle sensor, and the GPS. A data processing means for processing the measurement data,
Wherein the GPS measures aircraft position information of the aircraft, the attitude angle sensor measures aircraft motion information of the aircraft, and the laser sensor measures the distance from the aircraft to the ground surface by laser measurement. The distance value and the reflection intensity information from the ground plane are measured, the scanner measures the scanner scanning angle, the line sensor camera measures the color information from the ground plane, and the data processing means The aircraft position information, the aircraft motion information, the laser distance measurement value, the height information obtained from the scanner scanning angle, the reflection intensity information, and the color information are superimposed as information on the coordinate position of the measured point. An aircraft-mounted terrain measurement device characterized in that 3. The laser sensor and the line sensor camera are arranged such that a scan surface scanned by the scanner and a plane of an angle of view of the line sensor camera are parallel to each other, and a rotation axis of the scanner is provided. The aircraft-mounted terrain measurement device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the line sensor camera and the center of the angle of view are arranged on a straight line. 4. The laser sensor scans the laser beam with the scanner in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the aircraft to obtain a laser distance measurement value from the aircraft to the ground surface and reflection intensity information from the ground surface. 3. The airborne vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the line sensor camera measures the color information at the same time as the measurement by the laser sensor at a frame rate synchronized with the scanning of the laser light. Terrain measuring device. 5. The aircraft position information, the aircraft motion information, the laser distance measurement value, the reflection intensity information, the scanner scanning angle, and the color information are measured simultaneously. The aircraft-mounted terrain measurement device according to claim 2. 6. A method for measuring landforms mounted on an aircraft, comprising: a laser sensor that scans a laser beam using a scanner; and a line sensor camera that uses a line sensor in which light receiving elements are arranged. Based on the laser ranging value and the scanner scanning angle by the scanner,
A step of calculating coordinates of a measurement point at the laser distance measurement value with an aircraft as a reference origin; aircraft position information measured by a GPS provided in the aircraft and an attitude angle sensor provided in the aircraft with respect to the coordinates; Regarding the absolute position coordinates of the measurement point by using the aircraft motion information and the X, Y, Z coordinates of the measurement point by the laser distance measurement value, and the color information measured by the line sensor camera. A step of allocating pixels of the line sensor camera corresponding to the scanner scanning angle when the laser distance measurement value is measured, and reflection intensity information measured by the laser sensor when measuring the laser distance measurement value, A step of associating the color information with X and Y coordinates of the measurement point obtained from the laser distance measurement value; and X and Y coordinates of the measurement point. The height information is Z-coordinate of the measurement point, the reflection intensity information, airborne Morphometry method characterized by comprising the steps of: superposing the color information. 7. The method for measuring landforms on board an aircraft according to claim 6, wherein the color information associated with the X and Y coordinates of the measurement point is processed to obtain a visible image as an ortho image.