Patent ID: 7774158

Claim:
A method of creating a landmark for navigation, the method comprising: acquiring a plurality of images with a visual sensor of a vehicle; retrieving dead reckoning data corresponding to the retrieved plurality of images; using the dead reckoning data to select at least 2 images from the plurality of images, wherein the selected images are taken spaced apart; identifying visual features common to at least 2 of the selected images; determining 3-dimensional coordinates of the identified visual features using the selected images; generating a landmark comprising the one or more identified visual features and their corresponding 3-dimensional coordinates; storing the generated landmark in a database comprising one or more existing landmarks; and updating an estimate of the vehicle location and the locations of the existing landmarks and the generated landmark while navigating the same vehicle with the visual sensor based on the updated estimate of the vehicle location, said updating occurring when a landmark stored in the database is visually recognized; wherein navigating and updating are performed under the control of electronic hardware.