preview

Real-time Overlay of Map Features onto a Video Feed Essay

Decent Essays

Cognitics, Inc. proposes a novel software system that combines a geospatial database and a 3D-simulated environment with technology developed by Lockheed Martin for targeting systems. The new software system will be able to precisely identify the camera position and orientation for each frame of video, and use that information to accurately overlay the video frames with a wide variety of geospatial and map features. This technology can dramatically increase the situational awareness of UAV pilots by displaying and/or highlighting the location of targets, troops, landmarks, or any other item that has a geographic location component.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has a huge amount of experience and technology in targeting and …show more content…

If the camera information is precise, there will be excellent correlation between the synthetic scene and the scene from the video frame. When differences exist, ground control points will be generated and a transformation matrix will be derived to determine a more precise camera model. By feeding this precise camera model as well as a position computed using dead-reckoning like position predictions into a filtering algorithm such as a Kalman filter, we can integrate multiple data sources for the most precise camera position information. This will allow the overlay to be precise even when GPS signals are poor, or visibility on the UAV video feed is poor due to dust or clouds.
Using the precise transformation matrix, any 3D data can be accurately overlaid over the video frame. Additionally, any pixel on the video frame can be translated back to latitude, longitude, and elevation using the transformation matrix and the synthetic 3D environment.
Because of the accurate transformation matrix we obtain through our approach, it is possible to overlay any geospatial feature, 3D model, or map content over the video frame. Features such as controlled airspace can be rendered as a semi-transparent 3D object in the sky. The data to be overlaid is rendered using the transformation matrix to a pixel buffer with a transparency channel. That buffer can then be overlaid on the actual video frame from the UAV and encoded back into a H.264 MPEG4 stream for display on any system

Get Access