U.S. patent application number 11/725779 was filed with the patent office on 2008-09-25 for vehicle video control system.
Invention is credited to Alan Edward Kaplan, Nicholas C. Kormis, Edward M. Uticki.
Application Number | 20080231698 11/725779 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39766277 |
Filed Date | 2008-09-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080231698 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kaplan; Alan Edward ; et
al. |
September 25, 2008 |
Vehicle video control system
Abstract
A vehicle video control system is provided comprising a video
camera unit having a wide angle (preferably a fisheye) lens mounted
atop a column, wherein the column is attached to a manned or
robotic vehicle, and an operator control unit in communication with
the video camera unit. A continuous video image produced by the
video camera unit is transmitted to the operator control unit. Such
vehicle video control system provides a vehicle operator with an
approximately hemispherical view from above the vehicle, providing
the human operator with a continuous view of most of the area
surrounding the vehicle. This video control system eliminates the
burden of video camera control during simultaneous operation of the
vehicle using the present system.
Inventors: |
Kaplan; Alan Edward; (Morris
Township, NJ) ; Uticki; Edward M.; (Upper Saddle
River, NJ) ; Kormis; Nicholas C.; (North Bergen,
NJ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TOWNSEND & BANTA;c/o PORTFOLIO IP
PO BOX 52050
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402
US
|
Family ID: |
39766277 |
Appl. No.: |
11/725779 |
Filed: |
March 20, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
348/118 ;
348/E7.091 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G08C 17/02 20130101;
B25J 19/023 20130101; B25J 11/0025 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
348/118 ;
348/E07.091 |
International
Class: |
H04N 7/18 20060101
H04N007/18 |
Claims
1. A vehicle video control system comprising: a video camera having
a wide angle lens, said video camera adjustably disposed at a first
end of a column; a communication means in communication with the
video camera, said communication means disposed upon the vehicle or
said column; and an operator control unit in communication with the
communication means.
2. The vehicle video control system of claim 1, wherein the video
camera comprises a fisheye lens, or a lens having a very wide angle
view, such that when viewing the video image, the operator is
provided with an essentially hemispherical view from above of the
vehicle, or at least a very wide panoramic view of the area
surrounding the vehicle.
3. The vehicle video control system of claim 1, wherein the video
camera is adjustably disposed upon the column, such that the video
camera may be adjusted by the operator to provide varied views of
the area surrounding the vehicle.
4. The vehicle video control system of claim 3, wherein the video
camera further comprises a camera control means to enable remote
adjustment of the video camera, such that an operator may adjust
the attitude (disposition) of the camera upon the column.
5. The vehicle video control system of claim 1, further comprising:
an operator control unit in communication with the communication
means, wherein the operator control system comprises a receiver
capable of receiving data concerning the video image produced by
the video camera; and a user video display means in communication
with the receiver.
6. The vehicle video control system of claim 4, further comprising:
(a) an operator control unit in communication with the
communication means, wherein the operator control unit comprises: a
receiver/transmitter capable of receiving data concerning the video
image produced by the video camera, and transmitting command data
concerning control of the camera control means; (b) a user video
display means in communication with the receiver/transmitter; and
(c) a user control means in communication with the
receiver/transmitter and operator control unit capable of relaying
user commands to the camera control means, including commands to
the camera control means to automatically adjust the video camera
in the direction of travel of the vehicle.
7. The vehicle video control system of claim 1, further comprising
a remotely controlled vehicle disposed at a second end of the
column, said second end of the column opposite the first end of the
column.
8. The vehicle video control system of claim 1, wherein the
communication means is a wireless communication means, in wireless
communication with the operator control unit.
9. The vehicle video control system of claim 5, wherein the
operator control unit is in wireless communication with the
communication means, via a wireless receiver.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] A video control system for vehicles, including robotic
vehicles, is provided. In particular, a vehicle video control
system, comprised of a video camera unit having a wide angle
(preferably fisheye) lens mounted atop a column, wherein the column
is attached to a vehicle, preferably a robotic vehicle, and an
operator control unit in communication with the video camera unit,
is provided. Such video control system provides a vehicle operator
with an approximately hemispherical view from above the vehicle,
providing the human operator with a continuous view of most of the
area surrounding the vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Remotely controlled robotic vehicles are now used in various
applications, in many cases to replace the need for placing humans
in dangerous and/or difficult positions. For example, the U.S.
military now uses remotely controlled robotic vehicles, such as the
PacBot.TM. and Talon.TM. robots, having camera systems mounted
thereon, for operator observation of the immediate surroundings of
the robots, and for bomb detection and disposal. The utilization of
such remotely controlled robotic vehicles enables human operators
to remain at safe distances from potentially hazardous
environments, while simultaneously being able to observe the
immediate surroundings of the robotic vehicle.
[0003] It has been observed that while it is easy to drive by
observing a remotely controlled vehicle directly in its
environment, it is remarkably difficult to drive one by observing a
video display connected to a camera that looks straight ahead of
the remotely controlled vehicle. This is particularly true if there
isn't a visual clue, such as a line in a road to refer to when
driving. It is also very difficult to drive through obstacles that
may interfere with the vehicles motion, such as a narrow
doorway.
[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system
capable of providing a remote operating view of a vehicle, i.e., a
view of the vehicle path via a video display, which approximates
the view that an operator who is observing the vehicle directly
would have, rather than through a conventional video camera and
display, would have. Although the view may be slightly distorted in
such a system, it is easy for a human to mentally compensate for
this distortion, and therefore easy to drive the vehicle from this
novel video image.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In order to achieve the object of the present invention
described above, the present inventors earnestly endeavored to
provide a video control system for vehicles, such as remotely
controlled robotic vehicles, wherein the human operator is provided
with a relative full view of the area surrounding the vehicle
without the need to simultaneously control a video system/video
camera.
[0006] In accordance with said object, in a first embodiment of the
present invention, the present inventors provide a vehicle video
control system comprising:
[0007] a video camera having a wide angle lens, said video camera
adjustably disposed at a first end of a column;
[0008] a communication means in communication with the video
camera, said communication means disposed upon the vehicle or said
column; and
[0009] an operator control unit in communication with the
communication means.
[0010] Preferably, the communication means is in wireless
communication with the video camera. However, the communication
means may perform satisfactorily via a wired connection to the
video camera. The operator can view the video image, produced by
the video camera and transmitted to the operator control unit by
the communication means, while controlling the vehicle. Preferably,
the video camera at a downward angle, most preferably within
30.degree. and 60.degree..
[0011] In a second embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle
video control system of the first embodiment above is provided,
wherein the video camera has a fisheye lens, or a lens having a
very wide angle view, such that when viewing the video image, the
operator is provided with an essentially hemispherical view from
above the vehicle, or at least a very wide panoramic view of the
area surrounding the vehicle.
[0012] In a third embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle
video control system of the first embodiment is provided, wherein
the video camera is adjustably disposed upon the column, such that
the video camera may be adjusted by the operator to provide varied
views of the area surrounding the vehicle.
[0013] In a fourth embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle
video control system of the third embodiment of the present
invention is provided, wherein the video camera further comprises a
camera control means to enable remote adjustment of the video
camera, such that an operator may adjust the attitude (disposition)
of the camera upon the column. This enables an operator to adjust
the viewing angle of the video camera, and hence the video image
produced by the video camera, remotely.
[0014] In a fifth embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle
video control system of the first embodiment of the present
invention is provided, further comprising:
[0015] an operator control unit in communication with the
communication means, wherein the operator control system comprises
a receiver capable of receiving data concerning the video image
produced by the video camera; and
[0016] a user video display means in communication with the
receiver.
[0017] Preferably, the operator control unit is in wireless
communication with the communication means, via a wireless
receiver. However, alternatively, the operator control unit may be
in wired communication with the communication means.
[0018] In a sixth embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle
video control system of the fourth embodiment of the present
invention is provided, further comprising:
[0019] (a) an operator control unit in communication with the
communication means, wherein the operator control unit comprises:
[0020] a receiver/transmitter capable of receiving data concerning
the video image produced by the video camera, and transmitting
command data concerning control of the camera control means;
[0021] (b) a user video display means in communication with the
receiver/transmitter; and
[0022] (c) a user control means in communication with the
receiver/transmitter and operator control unit capable of relaying
user commands to the camera control means, including commands to
the camera control means to automatically adjust the video camera
in the direction of travel of the robotic vehicle.
[0023] In a seventh embodiment of the present invention, the
vehicle video control system of the first embodiment is provided,
further comprising a remotely controlled robotic vehicle disposed
at a second end of the column, said second end of the column
opposite the first end of the column. The column may be adjustably
disposed upon the remotely controlled robotic vehicle, such that
the column may be tilted/turned in any desired angle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the vehicle video control
system of the present invention, wherein the vehicle video control
system is attached to a remotely controlled robotic vehicle, and
the vehicle video control system is in wireless communication with
the operator control unit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the vehicle video control system 1
comprises a video camera 3 having a wide angle lens 5. Preferably,
the wide angle lens 5 is a fisheye lens, which provides an
approximately hemispherical, i.e., half of a sphere, view of the
area surrounding the robotic vehicle. This type of video image
provides the operator with a view of the area adjacent the front
and sides of the robotic vehicle 13.
[0026] The video camera 3 is adjustably disposed at a first end 7
of a column 9. A wireless communication means 11 is in
communication with the video camera 3. The wireless communication
means 11 may be disposed upon a vehicle, such as a robotic vehicle
13, or upon the column 9. An operator control unit 15 is in
wireless communication with the wireless communication means
11.
[0027] The human operator of the operator control unit 15 can view
the video image, produced by the video camera 3 and wirelessly
transmitted to the operator control unit 15 by the wireless
communication means 11, while controlling the remotely controlled
robotic vehicle 13. The video image is displayed to the operator on
a video display means 17 disposed on, or in communication with, the
operator control unit 15.
[0028] As the video image provides an approximately hemispherical
view of the area surrounding the robotic vehicle 13, the operator
need not perform any command or control functions with regards to
the video camera 3, but instead can focus all hand-eye coordinated
movements on control of the robotic vehicle. Specifically, the
human operator can control the orientation of the video camera 3
via an operator control means 22, such as a joystick as illustrated
in FIG. 1.
[0029] If the video camera 3 further has a camera control means 21,
the operator control unit 15 comprises a receiver/transmitter,
preferably wireless, capable of receiving data concerning the video
image produced by the video camera, as well as transmitting command
data concerning control of the camera control means 21, to control
movement of the video camera 3.
[0030] As discussed in the Summary of the Invention above, the
receiver/transmitter, operator control unit, communication means,
etc. are preferably in wireless communication. However, the
receiver/transmitter, operator control unit, communication means,
etc., may be in wired communication as well. In particular, if the
vehicle video control system of the present invention is utilized
in a manned vehicle, wherein the vehicle is controlled by a driver
disposed within the vehicle via the vehicle video control system, a
wired version of the vehicle video control system is satisfactory.
For example, armored military vehicles, with limited driver viewing
capabilities, may utilize the vehicle video control system of the
present invention to safely operate the vehicle during movement
from within the safe confines of the armored vehicle.
[0031] Although specific embodiments of the present invention have
been disclosed, those having ordinary skill in the art will
understand that changes can be made to the specific embodiments
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The
scope of the invention is not to be restricted, therefore, to the
specific embodiments. Furthermore, it is intended that the appended
claims cover any and all such applications, modifications, and
embodiments within the scope of the present invention.
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