Patent ID: 9696137
Date: 2017-07-04
CPC Classifications: G01B,G01C,G01S

Claim:
1. A method for estimating coordinates of a location on an object in a 3D scene, the method comprising: producing one or more radiation patterns varying along at least two directions, wherein the one or more radiations patterns repeat along at least one direction from the at least two directions; calculating one or more illumination symbols based on the one or more radiation patterns; illuminating a region of the object with the one or more radiation patterns, wherein the region includes a plurality of locations that includes the location whose coordinates are to be estimated and wherein each illuminated location within the region produces one or more object radiations in response to the one or more radiation patterns; measuring at least a portion of the one or more object radiations using one or more detector elements to produce a plurality of measured values, wherein measuring at least the portion of the one or more object radiations comprises forming an image of the 3D scene onto one or more camera image sensors such that at least a portion the region of the object including the location whose coordinates are to be estimated is imaged onto two or more pixels on the one or more camera image sensors; calculating one or more detection symbols from the plurality of measured values; establishing a correspondence between at least one of the one or more detection symbols and at least one of the one or more illumination symbols, wherein establishing the correspondence between at least one of the one or more detection symbols and at least one of the one or more illumination symbols comprises finding a smallest vector norm of a vector difference between the one or more detection symbols and each of the one or more illumination symbols; and estimating the coordinates of the location on the object based on the correspondence between the at least one of the one or more detection symbols and the at least one of the one or more illumination symbols.