• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    Positioning system Specially designed for covered spaces of large dimensions, it is constituted from a series of spatial modules (1) conveniently distributed static and a series of tracking units (2), associated to each player or user, so that the spatial modules (1) are constituted from a square shaped panel, in which two groups of LED diodes of different types are integrated, reference LEDs (5) of visible spectrum, and infrared identification LEDs (6), including each spatial module (1) with configuration means for its identification diodes (6) as well as means for feeding or connecting to a power source. In parallel, the tracking units (2) incorporate a series of cameras (7) with different orientations, associated with an image processing unit (8), with a communication port (9) and power supply means (10) . The system is complemented with a software for processing the information sent and previously managed by the tracking units, which can be implemented either through the process unit associated with each tracking unit or in a higher power external processing unit. , through a communications network. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)
    公开号:ES2648643A1
    申请号:ES201730883
    申请日:2017-07-04
    公开日:2018-01-04
    发明作者:Javier IBAÑEZ CRUZ
    申请人:Virtualware 2007 SA；Virtualware 2007 S A；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
    The present invention relates to a positioning system, more specifically for the positioning of objects in different types of spaces for multiple applications.
    The object of the invention is to provide a positioning system that can be applied effectively in enclosed spaces, without generating "dead zones" due to the existence of obstacles such as columns, corridors, etc., and without limit of users. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
    In some existing positioning systems to date, a plurality of cameras that are located in the operating space are involved, so that each user of the system has a helmet, glasses or similar element in which one or more LED identification diodes are arranged which are identified through the aforementioned cameras by means of the corresponding identification software, so that said identification is not possible when the operating space includes obstacles to the vision of the cameras, such as columns, bulkheads, corridors, etc.
    In the same way, this type of systems has limited the number of users or players, due to the limitation in the means of identification of each user, that is to say the limitation of colors offered by the diodes used, or in case of using several, the their spatial disposition to carry out said identification, so that in certain types of games or spaces (museums for example), they are clearly insufficient.
    Trying to obviate this problem, in a theoretical way, in the publication “Study on an Indoor Tracking System Based on Primary and Assistant Infrared Markers”, a hypothetical system for the location and monitoring of users is described


    independent in augmented reality applications based on infrared markers located on the roof of a large indoor installation.
    The proposed system employs artificial vision techniques for tracking the user's head wearing a helmet (HMD) with a built-in camera to capture the images of the markers that are transmitted to a laptop through a USB 2.0 connector, not the synchronization between markers and camera being necessary.
    The system provides two types of markers: secondary markers, consisting of 9 infrared LEDs, activated during the entire registration process, and primary markers, specifically 4 infrared LEDs, controlled to flash with a given coding pattern.
    Although this system would solve the problem described above, the article itself recognizes the unfeasibility of the project with current technology, highlighting the following technical problems:
     Space units are active elements with variable lighting, which complicates the recognition process.
     The information captured by the cameras is decoded serially over time, which requires a minimum number of frames to obtain identification recognition, this produces a minimum waiting time to obtain the positioning.
     When using infrared diodes both to position and identify, it is necessary to apply specialized filters to let only the infrared pass to the cameras, affecting the predominant infrared component noise to the positioning.
     It requires a historical control synchronized with the lighting of the LEDs, which increases the chances of error.

    DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
    The positioning system that is recommended resolves in a fully satisfactory way the problem previously exposed, in the different aspects mentioned.
    To this end, two types of fundamental elements that interact with each other to provide the system with the absolute position of each user in a global reference system referred to the specific position of each user participate in the system of the invention.
    More specifically, it is envisaged that the interaction space or absolute reference system can be divided into a series of sectors in order to cover the tracking area, in each of which a spatial module is established, located in the ceiling or suspended from it, as long as it is above the maximum height of the objects or users to be positioned, each module being a static element and materialized in a square-shaped panel of pre-established dimensions, which integrates a set of LED diodes adopting a certain configuration.
    The LEDs that participate in these modules differ in two types, on the one hand reference LEDs are defined, which emit light at visible wavelength, and on the other hand LED identification diodes are established, whose wavelength is infrared , to hide the identification with the naked eye, so that the software allows its distinction, quickly and easily.
    The reference LEDs are lit in the same way on all panels, while the identification LEDs are lit representing an identifier associated with the corresponding panel.
    The identification LEDs also let you know the orientation of the panel and consequently the position of the user.
    Each panel can be configured for any identifying element through an external element that communicates through a plug-in connector.


    The panel can be a printed circuit board (PCB) on which both the LEDs and the electronic components necessary for commissioning it are soldered.
    Each panel is completely passive, so that once they receive power through a power connector, the LEDs turn on and remain in this state continuously.
    The second of the elements that participate in the system of the invention are the tracking units, units that will be associated with each user or player and that consist of an independent element capable of recognizing the LEDs of the panels in dim ambient lighting conditions .
    For this, these tracking units incorporate a series of properly oriented cameras, associated with an embedded image processing unit, with a communications port and the essential means of power supply, whether batteries or cable.
    The tracking unit uses a single camera at each moment, and the system itself, according to its pose, selects the most suitable camera so that it observes the largest number of spatial modules so that the plane of the nearest space module is as perpendicular as possible to the optical axis of the camera.
    The cameras are arranged so that each of its axes points in a different direction, so that the whole field of vision covers a wide field, maintaining overlapping margins between them.
    This device can be wireless or not, when communicating with an element that makes use of the absolute position of the tracking unit in the reference system associated with the space modules, this element being conventional and therefore remaining outside the object of the present invention.
    From this structuring, and as just said, the tracking unit, through its own processing unit, calculates its relative position based on the modules


    closest space identified by their cameras.
    As for the acquisition and processing of the images, in a continuous video mode, the active camera sensor obtains the image under a fixed parameter setting, where a reduced exposure time is used to eliminate noise from ambient light , producing a clean LED image on an empty background.
    The image is then subdivided to be processed by parts in different threads. Each of them locates the centers of the LEDs, which in the image are centered in pixel blobs and their coordinates are stored in the image plane. Once the parts have been processed, all the blobs are put together and classified into reference blobs and identification blobs.
    In this way, an embedded image processing system is used, without the need to send all the information to the PC, achieving low latency access to the image, an essential requirement for the viability of the system, sending only data structures encoded with the information necessary to obtain the tracking element pose. This embedded system allows using a multiplexer the connection from 1 to N cameras, covering the area of vision required by each application, without affecting the processing capacity.
    In terms of communications, each of the tracking units sends the list of the blobs located to the equipment where the final calculation is made through a communications interface either by local network or by Wi-Fi, in case less latency is required .
    As stated above, the processing of the information obtained by the tracking units can be carried out through the process unit associated with them or in a higher power external process unit, through a communications network, so that in any of the cases in said processing process the following operational phases will be carried out:
     Distortion correction The coordinates obtained by the image recognition algorithm are corrected by applying the lens distortion through a system that makes use of


    the intrinsic matrix of the camera and the distortion coefficients according to the model used.
     Identification algorithm Once the blob list is available without distortion, the identification algorithm is executed for each of the tracking units. The algorithm, first locates the reference blobs, which allow you to project an internal grid to each panel, on this grid and checking whether or not blobs fall in each of its boxes the matrix associated to the panel is obtained. This matrix contains the orientation and panel ID. So you have the ability to identify each of the real LEDs with the blobs located.
     Obtaining the 3D position Once all the blobs are associated with their corresponding real LED, an algorithm is applied to solve the problem “Perspective - n - Point”, which can be solved by several optimization methods, in this case it is used a method that minimizes the reprojection error iteratively. From which the position and orientation of the camera reference system in the absolute reference system is obtained.
     Acquisition of the inertial unit As an improvement of the stability and filtering, it is possible or not to obtain the data of an IMU Inertial unit, to combine with those obtained from the optical system, since these sensors have a much higher refreshment than the frames per second that allows the camera.
     Filter and sensor fusion Finally, a filter that combines sensor fusion between the data of both the optical and inertial systems as well as their past states is applied.
    The final result is to obtain the position in vector mode X, Y, Z and the orientation in quaternion representation X, Y, Z, W of each of the tracking units. This process is performed at a minimum of 40Hz and independently.


    From this structuring, the following advantages are derived:
     The use of the grid-like system where all the elements in it are passive and identical, make it an area-scalable system, only limited by the 5-bit number of the identification LEDs, so that with a number of 16 bits it
    it obtains a tracking area equivalent to an area larger than 20,000m2.
     Being an “inside-out” system, that is to say a system in which each element has its own position internally, it is also scalable to the object level
    10 positioned simultaneously, since being independent of each other does not affect the technical specifications the fact of increasing the number of positioned elements.
     Since the reference system obtained from the space modules is
    15 it places on the ceiling above the users, at all times there is a camera pointing in that direction so that the occlusion between objects is minimal, being able to approach each other as long as it is not placed on top of each other.
    20  The spatial modules are passive, so that the complexity of the system does not increase with the area, they only require connection to power in any standard outlet through a power source, being the illumination of the static LEDs, which simplifies recognition, being more robust and scalable.
     The identification and identification recognition is obtained unequivocally with a single frame, without the need to decode information serially over time, which allows to recover the position after a possible loss without the need for a minimum wait
     The use of several multiplexed cameras results in a larger field with good resolution, without loss of processing capacity or processing accuracy.
    35  The system combines both infrared LEDs for identification, and LEDs in the visible range for positioning, so that the


    application of specialized filters to let only the infrared pass to the cameras, in this way the predominant noise in infrared component does not affect the positioning. Being the references obtained by the most stable visible LEDs.
     The optical positioning system is combined with inertial units to improve response time and reduce noise in the final position.
     The use of two wavelengths simultaneously simplifies greatly the identification identification algorithm, so that the overall latency of the system is reduced, and the necessary processing capacity. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
    In order to complement the description that is going to be carried out below and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical realization of the same, a set of said description is attached as an integral part of said description. planes where illustrative and not limiting,
    20 the following has been represented:
    Figure 1.- Shows an elevation view of the fundamental elements that participate in a positioning system carried out in accordance with the object of the invention.
    Figure 2.- Shows a schematic detail of the configuration of one of the space modules that participate in the system of the invention.
    Figure 3.- Shows a plan view of the possible distribution of the space modules on an operating surface in which irregular areas are defined. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
    In view of the figures outlined, it can be seen how the positioning system for virtual reality object of the invention is constituted from two elements
    35 fundamental, a series of space modules (1) static and conveniently


    distributed superiorly on the operating surface and a series of tracking units (2), associated with each player or user.
    As can be seen in Figure 3, it is expected that the interaction space
    (3) or absolute reference system is divided into a series of equidistant and contiguous sectors or cells, in each of which a spatial module (1) is established, so that said modules are all arranged equidistant , at a distance (d), adapting to irregularities (4) on the floor that said interaction space (3) may have.
    According to Figure 2, the space modules (1) are embodied in a square-shaped panel, in which two groups of LED diodes of different types are integrated.
    More specifically, a series of reference LEDs (5) and a series of identification LEDs (6) are established in said modules.
    The reference LEDs (5) emit light at visible wavelength, while the LED identification diodes (6) will emit infrared wavelength, so that the software allows its distinction.
    In this way, the reference LEDs (5) are lit in the same way in all the panels, while the identification LEDs are lit representing an identifier associated to the corresponding panel, also allowing to know the orientation of the panel and consequently the position of the user .
    In this way, each panel or spatial module (1) can be configured for any identifying element by means of an external element that communicates through a plug-in connector.
    Preferably, the use of 8 LED diodes in the visible range for positioning, and 16 infrared LED diodes with a binary coding for identification, in addition to 6 infrared LED diodes for error correction and accelerated search algorithm are planned. However, this solution is due to simple design criteria, so that the number of LEDs in the visible reference range could


    be reduced to 4 (never less), this distribution being the optimum from the exclusive point of view of the panel itself, although it entails greater complexity in the recognition process, which is why it has been chosen in the example of realization by The participation of 8 LEDs. As for the rest of the LEDs, their number could
    5 also vary depending on different design criteria.
    The panel can be a printed circuit board (PCB) on which bothLED, as the electronic components necessary for commissioning it.
    10 For its part, and according to Figure 1, the tracking units (2), associated with each user or player consist of an independent element capable of recognizing the LEDs (5-6) of the panels of each spatial module ( 1) in dim ambient lighting conditions.
    15 Said tracking units (2) incorporate a series of properly oriented cameras (7), associated with an image processing unit (8), with a communications port (9) and the essential means of power supply (10) .
    The tracking unit (2) uses a single camera at each moment, and the system itself
    20 according to its pose, select the most suitable camera so that it observes the largest number of spatial modules so that the plane of the nearest space module is perpendicular to the optical axis of the camera.
    As previously mentioned, the cameras (7) are arranged so that
    Each of its axes points in a different direction, so that the whole field of vision covers a wide field, maintaining overlapping margins between them.
    It only remains to note finally that the tracking units (2) can be wireless or not, when communicating with virtual reality glasses or element in charge of
    30 to carry out the generation of the images according to the relative position within the reference system of each user, although the invention aims to be independent of the means by which said positional concrete representations are finally carried out, focusing exclusively in the system through which it is possible to carry out the positioning of the users of the system.

    权利要求:
    Claims (1)
    [1]
    1st.- Positioning system, which being specially designed for large covered spaces, is characterized in that two main elements participate in it, a series of static space modules (1) that are conveniently distributed superiorly on the operating surface in accordance with a distribution based on equidistant and contiguous cells, and a series of tracking units (2), associated with each player or user, with the particularity that the space modules
    (one) they are constituted from a panel of preferably square shape, in which two groups of LED diodes of different type are integrated; reference LEDs
    (5) with a wavelength in visible range, and infrared identification LEDs (6), each space module (1) including configuration means for its identification diodes (6) as well as power supply means or connection to a power supply; with the particularity that the tracking units (2) incorporate a series of cameras (7) with different orientations, associated with an image processing unit (8) with an embedded image preprocessing system, with a port of communications (9) and the corresponding power supply means (10); having foreseen the inclusion of a software for processing the information obtained by the tracking units which can be implemented interchangeably through the process unit associated with each tracking unit or in an external process unit of greater power, through of a communications network.
    2nd.- Positioning system, according to claim 1, characterized in that each panel
    The spatial module (1) includes an external connector as a means of configuring the LED identification diodes (6).
    3rd.-Positioning system according to claim 1, characterized in that in each space module (1) a set of 4 LEDs in the visible range for positioning participates.
    4th.-Positioning system, according to claim 1, characterized in that in each space module (1) a set of 8 LEDs in the visible range for positioning participates.

    类似技术:
    公开号 | 公开日 | 专利标题
    US10007339B2|2018-06-26|Controllers with asymmetric tracking patterns
    JP3779308B2|2006-05-24|Camera calibration system and three-dimensional measurement system
    CN103047971B|2015-04-08|Economical airborne oblique digital aerial photography system
    US10044922B1|2018-08-07|Hardware system for inverse graphics capture
    ES2828998T3|2021-05-28|Method and system for lighting fixture alignment
    WO2016077057A9|2016-07-07|Imaging systems and methods
    US10404899B2|2019-09-03|Modular camera blocks for virtual reality capture
    CN103837147B|2017-01-18|Active infrared dot-matrix type artificial road sign, intelligent body locating system and intelligent body locating method
    EP3332392B1|2019-01-02|Commissioning device for commissioning installed building technology devices
    US20170163860A1|2017-06-08|Camera Strap
    CN208654811U|2019-03-26|Image capture device
    ES2648643B2|2018-07-25|POSITIONING SYSTEM
    CN210225419U|2020-03-31|Optical communication device
    US9846984B2|2017-12-19|Device for recognizing image and device for reading image
    CN107218886B|2020-07-03|Optical positioning tracking system and method based on invisible combined road sign
    US9633279B2|2017-04-25|Free space positioning method and system
    CN104486882A|2015-04-01|Remote control type aerial illuminator and remote control type aerial illumination group
    CN205103427U|2016-03-23|Optical lens piece and optical lens module
    WO2018104130A1|2018-06-14|Flash light emitter with remote communication function
    CN207456287U|2018-06-05|A kind of intelligence sighting device
    CN212519136U|2021-02-09|Lens module and electronic equipment
    US10816632B1|2020-10-27|360-degree 6-degrees-of-freedom tracking system with small form factor devices enabled by Lambertian diffusers
    CN103946862A|2014-07-23|Illuminator for an image acquisition system
    EP3647989A1|2020-05-06|Handheld id-reading system with integrated illumination
    US10018825B2|2018-07-10|Microscope monitoring device and system thereof
    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    CA3064672A1|2019-01-10|
    EP3650996A4|2020-05-13|
    MX2019014856A|2020-02-12|
    CN110809748A|2020-02-18|
    US20210149477A1|2021-05-20|
    WO2019008200A1|2019-01-10|
    ES2648643B2|2018-07-25|
    EP3650996A1|2020-05-13|
    US11169596B2|2021-11-09|
    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    JP4418935B2|2004-07-15|2010-02-24|株式会社国際電気通信基礎技術研究所|Optical marker system|
    DE102005013225A1|2005-03-18|2006-09-28|Fluyds Gmbh|Object tracking and situation analysis system|
    US20160379074A1|2015-06-25|2016-12-29|Appropolis Inc.|System and a method for tracking mobile objects using cameras and tag devices|
    法律状态:
    2018-07-25| FG2A| Definitive protection|Ref document number: 2648643 Country of ref document: ES Kind code of ref document: B2 Effective date: 20180725 |
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    ES201730883A|ES2648643B2|2017-07-04|2017-07-04|POSITIONING SYSTEM|ES201730883A| ES2648643B2|2017-07-04|2017-07-04|POSITIONING SYSTEM|
    PCT/ES2018/070435| WO2019008200A1|2017-07-04|2018-06-20|Positioning system|
    US16/624,529| US11169596B2|2017-07-04|2018-06-20|Positioning system|
    EP18827559.8A| EP3650996A1|2017-07-04|2018-06-20|Positioning system|
    CN201880043962.1A| CN110809748A|2017-07-04|2018-06-20|Positioning system|
    MX2019014856A| MX2019014856A|2017-07-04|2018-06-20|Positioning system.|
    CA3064672A| CA3064672A1|2017-07-04|2018-06-20|Positioning system|
    [返回顶部]