Abstract:
According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a system for discretely capturing data comprises a concealing structure and two or more cameras hidden within the concealing structure. The two or more cameras each having one or more sensors configured to collect imagery data. The imagery data includes data configured to construct one or more images. According to particular embodiments, the concealing structure is part of a vehicle, Additionally, according to particular embodiments, the two or more cameras are laterally offset from one another. Yet additionally, according to further embodiments, multiple sets of a plurality of laterally offset cameras are provided.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present disclosure is directed, in general, to imagery capturing systems, and more specifically, to a system and method for discreetly collecting 3D immversive, High Definition (HD), Standard Definition (SD) or Infra-Red (IR) panoramic imagery from a distributed, concealed or embedded camera system array. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    A variety of image capturing systems exist. One popular image capturing system is a device employed by Google to prepare its Street View maps. This device mounts camera in a ball-like configuration on top of a mast several feet long. Such a device often invokes strange looks from viewers of the device as captured in the Street View map images, themselves. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a system for discretely capturing data comprises a concealing structure and two or more cameras hidden within the concealing structure. The two or more cameras each having one or more sensors configured to collect imagery data. The imagery data includes data configured to construct one or more images. According to particular embodiments, the concealing structure is part of a vehicle. Additionally, according to particular embodiments, the two or more cameras are laterally offset from one another. Yet additionally, according to further embodiments, multiple sets of a plurality of laterally offset cameras are provided. 
         [0004]    Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “server” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular server may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1A  is a drawing illustrative of a system for discreetly collecting 3D immersive, HD, SD or IR panoramic imagery by a distributed, concealed or embedded camera system array, that may be utilized by various embodiments of the disclosure; 
           [0007]      FIG. 1B  is a simplified block diagram of one embodiment of a distributed concealed or embedded imagery capturing system that may be utilized by various embodiments of the disclosure; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a simplified diagram of one embodiment of the exterior of a vehicle roof rack operable to carry out discreet capturing of imagery by a distributed, concealed or embedded system array, that may be utilized by various embodiments of the disclosure; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3A  is a simplified diagram of one embodiment of the interior of a vehicle roof rack configured to provide for the discreet capturing of imagery, by a distributed, concealed or embedded camera system array, which may be utilized by various embodiments of the disclosure; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3B  is a diagram of the cross section of metal, plastic or fiberglass tubing used in a vehicle roof rack operable to carry out discreet capturing of imagery, which may be utilized by various embodiments of the disclosure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is an additional depiction of a roof rack that may be utilized for a discreet, distributed, concealed or embedded camera system array by various embodiments of the disclosure; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  illustrates an angle of view depiction of one embodiment of a distributed, concealed or embedded imagery capturing system, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  illustrates a wiring system layout of one embodiment of an imagery capturing system, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a depiction of various angles of a distributed camera system array and the camera&#39;s housing for use in one embodiment of an imagery capturing system, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  depicts an embodiment of a computing device that may be used in connection with embodiments of the disclosure to carry out any of the above-referenced functions and/or serve as a computing device for processing and storing imagery captured by the system. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    The FIGURES, discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged system. 
         [0017]    Recently, imagery capturing systems have made possible the ability to capture pictures, video, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinate information, camera facing direction, or any combination of data by using cameras and other devices capable of generating panoramic views of its surroundings. Known imagery capturing systems are comparatively large and bulky, with cameras that are plainly visible to anyone seeing the imagery capturing system as it goes about capturing data. For example, these systems often include one or more fairly large camera housings containing a number of cameras that are mounted on the roofs of vehicles for obtaining a panoramic view. 
         [0018]    A variety of uses exist for this type of imagery ranging from consumer mapping applications such as Google&#39;s Street View, to military uses for surveying unfamiliar or unfriendly terrain to aid in route mapping, mission planning, and creating 3D immersive imagery. For most applications, the level of visibility of the cameras is not of great concern. However, there are some situations where it may not be desired to advertise the fact that a vehicle is capturing imagery data. Additionally, in such conventional designs, certain perspective views are not provided because the cameras are mounted in a ball-like configuration. 
         [0019]    Given the need to discreetly capture High Definition (HD), Standard Definition (SD) or Infra-Red (IR) imagery data, certain embodiments of the disclosure provide a system that addresses some or all of the problems that exist with previous camera implementations, as discussed above. Additionally, certain embodiments of the disclosure provide an enhanced perspective. 
         [0020]      FIG. 1A  is a drawing illustrative of one embodiment of a system  100  for discreetly collecting HD, SD, or IR panoramic imagery. The system  100  may be installed in and/or on any vehicle  102  in which a roof rack  104  or similar device may be attached. In one embodiment, the roof rack  104  includes a plurality of cameras  106   a - 106   c  (collectively  106 ) that are distributed and mounted at strategic points, on or embedded within the roof rack  104 . The cameras  106  may communicate in a number of ways with an imagery capturing server  108  in communication with each of the cameras, as described in greater detail below, 
         [0021]    While the imagery capturing server  108  is depicted as being contained within the vehicle  102 , the imagery capturing server  108  may be located anywhere, as long as data captured by the cameras  106  can be communicated to the server  108 . Communication between the cameras  106  and the server  108  may occur in real time or near real time; after a run to capture data has been completed; or any number of suitable ways. In addition, although the imagery capturing server  108  generally appears as being in a single location, the imagery capturing server  108  may be geographically dispersed, for example, in cloud computing scenarios, 
         [0022]      FIG. 1B  is a simplified block diagram of one embodiment of an imagery capturing system  100  that may be utilized by various embodiments of the disclosure. In one embodiment, one or more cameras  106  may be in communication with the imagery capturing server  108  over a network  110 . The imagery capturing server  108  may be a high-end small PC or laptop with a capture card or may be any other type of computing device configured to receive imagery data  112   a - 112   n , collectively  112 , from the cameras  106 . The network  110  may be wired using IEEE 1394b-800 Mb/s Fire wire, Ethernet, USB, or any other cable suitable for communicating imagery between the cameras  106  and the imagery capturing server  108 . In other embodiments, the network  110  may include, but are not limited to, a public or private data network; a local area network (LAN); a metropolitan area network (MAN); a wide area network (WAN); a wireline or wireless network (GSM, CDMA, LTE, WIMAX, or the like); a local, regional, or global communication network; portions of a cloud-computing network; a communication bus for components in a system; an optical network; a satellite network; an enterprise intranet; other suitable communication links; or any combination of the preceding. In particular embodiments, portions of the network  110  may be on the Internet. In other embodiments, portions may not be on the Internet. 
         [0023]    In one embodiment, imagery data  112  may include any combination of images, video, GPS coordinates and metadata, camera direction (e.g., compass) and angle information, geotag information, as well as any other information the cameras  106  may collect. In certain embodiments, the imagery data  112  can be infrared data or thermal imaging data. In other embodiments, the imagery data  112  can include color, intensity and direction of light impinged upon a digital image sensor in the cameras  106 , for example, to allow later modification of a focus for a visual image. The cameras  106  can include any suitable components for capturing such imagery data  112 , including any of a variety of sensors including, but not limited to, image and/or light sensors, compass, accelerometers, and a GPS sensor. In other embodiments, a sensor (not expressly shown) may collect data for or on behalf of a plurality of cameras  106 , for example, GPS data and/or compass data with such sensor collected. This additional sensor collected data may be communicated as imagery data  112  or may be combined with imagery data  112  according to different embodiments. 
         [0024]    In one embodiment, the imagery capturing server  108  is located remotely from the vehicle  102 . In embodiments where the imagery capturing server  108  is located remotely, the cameras  106  may store data internally for later transmission, or may wirelessly transmit the data as it is captured to the imagery capturing server  108 , which may be wirelessly in communication with the cameras  106 . Additional embodiments are described in greater detail below. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is a simplified diagram of one embodiment of the exterior of a vehicle roof rack  200  configured to carry out discreet capturing of 3D immersive HD, SD, or IR panoramic imagery that may be utilized by various embodiments of the disclosure. Different surfaces of the roof rack  200  are laid out individually in the depiction. The front surface  202 , rear surface  204 , side surface  206 , and top surface  208  each include cameras  210   a - 210   g  (collectively  210 ), which are mounted on or embedded within the various surfaces of the roof rack  200 . In one embodiment, the cameras  210  are concealed within housing or ports to appear as lights, rather than cameras. The side surface  206  depicts a windscreen plate  212  for use in one embodiment for deflecting wind from the roof rack  200 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 3A  is a simplified diagram of one embodiment of the interior of a vehicle roof rack  300  configured to provide for the discreet capturing of imagery, which may be utilized by various embodiments of the disclosure. The roof rack  300  may be made out of any suitable material, and in one embodiment, the frame tubing  302  is made out of aluminum, It may also be made out of plastic, fiberglass or other suitable materials. Also depicted in this embodiment are cameras  304   a - 304   f , (collectively cameras  304 ), which are positioned around the frame tubing  302  in order to carry out embodiments of the present disclosure. The cameras  304  may be connected using wiring  306 , such as the wiring discussed above. In addition to wiring  306  for transmitting the images and other data, wiring  306  may alternatively provide power to the cameras  304 , depending upon the particular embodiment. The wiring  306  may be concealed within the frame tubing  302 , or fixed to the frame tubing  302 . In other embodiments, there may not be any wiring  306 , rather the cameras  304  may utilize one of the wireless protocols previously described or may be powered using battery power or another power source which does not require a power line. Other non-limiting examples of power sources not requiring a power line include wireless power or techniques that employ wireless energy transmission such as, but not limited to, inductive coupling and resonance techniques. 
         [0027]      FIG. 3B  is a diagram of the cross section of frame tubing  302  used in a vehicle roof rack operable to carry out discreet capturing of imagery, which may be utilized by various embodiments of the disclosure. The frame tubing  302  may include an interior cavity  308  where wiring  306  may be concealed for connecting the cameras  304  to the imagery capturing server  108  (from  FIG. 1 ) or to a power supply (not shown). 
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is an additional depiction of a roof rack  400  that may be utilized by various embodiments of the disclosure. Similar to previous figures, the frame tubing  402  includes camera ports  404  along the top surface  406  of the roof rack  400  for integrating cameras into the roof rack  400 . In this embodiment, cameras are placed in a different configuration than in previous embodiments. This placement allows for different imagery to be captured, depending upon the viewing angle of cameras placed in the various camera ports  404 .  FIG. 4  additionally depicts the front surface  408  of the roof rack  400 , the rear surface  410 , and the side surface  412 . Each of the surfaces depicted provides indications of where cameras may be placed along the surface. 
         [0029]      FIG. 5  illustrates an angle of view depiction  500  of an imagery capturing system, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In one embodiment, various cameras  504  are placed, mounted, embedded or distributed around the roof rack  502 , as described in previous figures. Rather than using the same camera or camera lens for each location, cameras or lenses with various angles may be used. In  FIG. 5 , the side portions of the roof rack show standard lens having a viewing angle of 42.5 degrees, while the front and rear have wide angle lens having a viewing angle of 50 degrees. In other embodiments, other viewing angles for cameras may be utilized. Any combination of cameras may be used depending upon the positions of the cameras  504  in an embodiment. In one embodiment, using imagery from each of the cameras  504 , a combined panoramic image may be formed, for example, by stitching together data from multiple cameras. When the data from all the cameras are combined, the panaromic view is 360 degrees. 
         [0030]    In addition to the above 360 degree panaromic view, as seen in  FIG. 5 , the fields of views overlap—yielding different perspective angles. In particular, in this embodiment, the cameras on a particular side are laterally offset with respect to one another. This configuration allows multiple perspective of an object to be viewed. For example, looking at the overlap shown between any two laterally offset cameras, one can see that through one camera the overlap portion is seen from one angle and through another camera the overlap portion is simultaneously seen from another angle. Such overlapping, according to particular embodiments, provides three-dimension depth perspective of objects captured by the. To enhance such three-dimensional depth perception, according to particular embodiments, a host of cameras may be positioned at angles other than directly outward. Additionally, cameras may be stacked on top of one another at similar or different angles. 
         [0031]    Although a certain number of cameras are shown in this embodiment, in other embodiments, many more cameras may be utilized. Additionally, in particular embodiments, the cameras may be positioned to move such that they can shoot at different angles. 
         [0032]      FIG. 6  illustrates a wiring system layout  600  of one embodiment of an imagery capturing system, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In one embodiment, a roof rack  602  may have a series of cameras  604  connected to a computing device  608 , The computing device  608  may be internal to a host vehicle in which the roof rack  602  is mounted or may be located remotely, as previously described. The computing device may include an imagery capture system  612  as well as a power supply  610  for powering the imagery capture system  612 . In one embodiment, the capture system  612  is configured to hold 4 to 24 hours of imagery data, including corresponding GPS metadata pairing information and any other metadata. In other embodiments, the capture system  612  may hold more than 24 hours of imagery data, including corresponding GPS metadata pairing information and any other metadata. 
         [0033]      FIG. 7  is a depiction of various angles of a camera  700  and the camera&#39;s housing for use in one embodiment of an imagery capturing system, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the camera  700  is a Stingray Compact camera using 2 IEEE 1394b (Firewire) connections to communicate with an imagery capture system (not shown). The camera  700  is capable of 2452×2056 resolution, as well as capturing 9 frames per second at full resolution. The cameras  700  are also capable of vehicle and facial recognition from 15 to 30 feet away. Various views  702 ,  704 , and  706  of the camera  700  and its housing are additionally depicted. It should be understood that any camera may be used, depending upon the particular embodiment, and the described camera is just one example. 
         [0034]    As a non-limiting example, in other embodiments, the frame rate of other cameras may be more than or less than nine frames per second. In particular embodiments, the frame rate may be so high that it is considered video. Additionally, in particular embodiments, the frame rate may depend on a speed of a vehicle in which the camera is located—dynamically adjusting to faster rates as speed increases and/or slower rates as the speed decreases. he speed of the vehicle may be determined from sensors mounted to the vehicle (e.g., GPS or accelerometers). Alternatively, the imagery capture system may be tied into the controls of the vehicle. 
         [0035]    As another non-limiting example, the camera can be of the type marketed under the Lytro brand, which utilize a digital image sensor to capture the color, intensity, and direction of light entering the camera. Using all this collected data, the focus of an image can be dynamically updated during viewing of the image. Thus, for example, the details of both near and far objects are captured. Additionally, such light capturing devices allows a slight shift of perspective, which enhances the perspective techniques disclosed above. 
         [0036]      FIG. 8  is an embodiment of a computing device  800  that may be used in connection with other embodiments of the disclosure to carry out any of the above-referenced functions and/or serve as a computing device  800  for processing and storing imagery and related data captured by the system. The computing device  800  may generally be adapted to execute any of the known OS2, UNIX, Mac-OS, Linux, Android and/or Windows Operating Systems or other operating systems. The computing device  800  in this embodiment includes a processor  802 , a random access memory (RAM)  804 , a read only memory (ROM)  806 , a mouse  808 , a keyboard  810  and input/output devices such as a printer  814 , disk drives  812 , a display  816  and a communications link  818 . In other embodiments, the computing device  800  may include more, less, or other component parts. Embodiments of the present disclosure may include programs that may be stored in the RAM  804 , the ROM  806  or the disk drives  812  and may be executed by the processor  802  in order to carry out functions described herein. The communications link  818  may be connected to a computer network or a variety of other communicative platforms including, but not limited to, a public or private data network; a local area network (LAN); a metropolitan area network (MAN); a wide area network (WAN); a wireline or wireless network; a local, regional, or global communication network; an optical network; a satellite network; a cellular network; an enterprise intranet; Bluetooth™; other suitable communication links; or any combination of the preceding. Disk drives  812  may include a variety of types of storage media such as, for example, solid state drives, floppy disk drives, hard disk drives, CD ROM drives, DVD ROM drives, magnetic tape drives or other suitable storage media, Although this embodiment employs a plurality of disk drives  812 , a single disk drive  812  may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. 
         [0037]    Although  FIG. 8  provides one embodiment of a computing device  800  that may be utilized with other embodiments of the disclosure, such other embodiments may additionally utilize computers other than computing device  800  as well as computing devices without conventional operating systems. Additionally, embodiments of the disclosure may also employ multiple computing devices  800  or other computers networked together in a computer network. Most commonly, multiple computing devices  800  or other computers may be networked through the Internet and/or in a client server network. Embodiments of the disclosure may also be used with a combination of separate computer networks each linked together by a private or a public network. 
         [0038]    Several embodiments of the disclosure may include logic contained within a physical storage medium. In the embodiment of  FIG. 8 , the logic includes computer software executable on the computing device  800 . The medium may include the RAM  804 , the ROM  806 , the disk drives  812 , or other mediums. In other embodiments, the logic may be contained within hardware configuration or a combination of software and hardware configurations. 
         [0039]    The logic may also be embedded within any other suitable medium without departing from the scope of the disclosure. 
         [0040]    It will be understood that well known processes have not been described in detail and have been omitted for brevity. Although specific steps, structures and materials may have been described, the present disclosure may not be limited to these specifics, and others may be substituted as it is well understood by those skilled in the art, and various steps may not necessarily be performed in the sequences shown. 
         [0041]    While this disclosure has described certain embodiments and generally associated methods, alterations and permutations of these embodiments and methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of example embodiments does not define or constrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure, as defined by the following claims.