Patent ID: 9031782
Filing Date: 2015-05-12
Classification: G01C,G01S,G06T

Abstract:
1. A navigation system for a movable platform comprising: a GNSS receiver sensor configured to provide position signals representative of the estimated current position of the movable platform; a camera sensor configured to provide sequential photographic images representative of the surroundings of the movable platform, the sequential photographic images having matching landmarks showing the same scene that are taken from different locations; an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) sensor configured to provide specific force and angular rate signals representative of the current specific forces and rate of the movable platform; a processor responsive to the camera photographic images to estimate the position and attitude of the movable platform, covariance of the estimated position and attitude, and the covariance of the estimated sequential consecutive position and attitude; the processor responsive to the GNSS receiver's estimated position signal, the camera's estimated position and attitude signal, the camera's estimated position and attitude covariance, the camera's estimated correlation of the covariance of consecutive position and attitude estimates, and the specific force and angular rate signals, the processor configured to provide a navigation solution representative of the estimated current position, velocity, and attitude of the movable platform, the processor is further configured with a landmark database that stores the location and description of landmarks that are detected in photographic images representative of the surroundings of the movable platform and a landmark detection and tracking component that detects landmarks in photographic images representative of the surroundings of the movable platform; a triangulation component that triangulates the position of landmarks in photographic images representative of the surroundings of the movable platform; the landmark database storing the location and description of the landmarks for future use.