Patent ID: 7633489

Claim:
A navigation method comprising the steps of: sequentially providing frames containing navigation information and generating electric signals representing a position of an optical sensor; storing a first frame into a reference frame memory as a reference frame; storing an input frame subsequent to the first frame into an input frame memory as a current input frame; setting a predetermined region of the reference frame as a mask window; obtaining correlation values over all the pixels on the input frame by a full search comparison method, by moving the mask window on the input frame pixel by pixel; calculating X-axis and Y-axis displacements of a pixel having the greatest correlation value of all the pixels; and updating the reference frame using the current input frame stored in the input frame memory, wherein the mask window includes at least two pixels and the size of mask window is n×m, wherein n and m are natural numbers, and the size of the input frame is i×j, wherein i and j are natural numbers, where n is less than i by at least three pixels and m is less than j by at least three pixels, wherein when the mask window has a defect, an area different from the area of the mask window or a small area in the mask window where the defect portion is excepted is newly set as a mask window on the reference frame.