Patent ID: 8144194

Claim:
A method of spatially directing an imaging apparatus over a communication link exhibiting an uplink delay and a downlink delay, by periodically transmitting a control command for directing the imaging apparatus, wherein the imaging apparatus periodically transmits to the user an image, and wherein the transmitted image is presented to the user and contains a pointing point of the imaging apparatus, the method comprising: enabling the user to track a user-identified target on a currently presented image of the periodically transmitted images; estimating a location of the user-identified target based on a tracking by the user, at a future time corresponding with the uplink delay, wherein the uplink delay is a time required for a command control currently transmitted by the user to reach the imaging apparatus; estimating a location of a pointing point of the imaging apparatus, at a future time corresponding with the uplink delay; calculating a distance between the estimated location of the user-identified target and the estimated location of the pointing point at the future time; and calculating a command control that will direct the pointing point onto the user-identified target, based on the calculated distance and all previous control commands that have been transmitted to the imaging apparatus but have not yet affected the currently presented image, wherein at least one of: the presenting, the estimating, and the calculating is performed by at least one computer.