Patent ID: 6972759

Claim:
An image matching device comprising: a three-dimensional model data memory unit for storing identification information for each of a plurality of parts forming an aggregate and information concerning positions of said parts in three-dimensional space; a parts data memory unit for storing data characterizing said parts; an image data memory unit for storing image data defining an image taken of said aggregate, information concerning a position at which said image was taken and a direction in which said image was taken, the stored image data and the stored information concerning position and direction being associated one another and stored; image synthesizing means for producing a synthesized image as viewed from a position and in a direction which are the same as those of an image stored in said image data memory unit, by referring to said three-dimensional model data memory unit and said parts data memory unit; means for matching image data of the produced synthesized image to image data of an image stored in said image data memory unit; and model correcting means for correcting three-dimensional model data of pipe diameter stored in said three-dimensional model data memory unit, said image synthesizing means generating a synthesized image by using three-dimensional model data corrected by said model correcting means.