Patent ID: 8903654

Claim:
An attitude estimator for providing attitude estimates for real-time motion compensation of images on a moving platform, wherein an IMU provides uncompensated attitude samples S(hT) of the moving platform at a high rate clock with a sampling period T and a dock index h, said samples S(hT) received with a latency L, an image sensor captures images O(kMT) at a low rate clock with a sampling period MT where M is greater than one and a clock index k, each image captured over an integration period having a center of integration (COI) at the center of the integration period synchronized to the low rare clock followed by a readout period, and a motion compensator that initiates real-time motion compensation on the captured image I(kMT) at the end of the readout period at a just-in-time constraint J measured in a number of high rate clock samples equal to one half the integration period plus the readout period after the COI, the attitude estimator comprising: a non-causal sampling clock corresponding to the low rate clock kMT delayed by N high rate clock samples where N is less than or equal to J; and a non-causal filter that filters the uncompensated attitude samples S(hT) including at least one sample received after the COI to provide a non-causal attitude estimate A(kMT|(kM+N)T) for the previous COI that is delayed by N−L high rate samples and synchronized to the non-causal sampling clock, said motion compensator using the non-causal attitude estimate A(kMT|(kM+N)T) to initiate motion compensation on the captured image I(kMT).