Patent Document ID: 7542849
Application ID: 11422306
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for determining a terrestrial location of an apparatus that is deployed in a generally known geographical region, comprising the steps of: (a) capturing, by the apparatus, an earthbound image of the sky from a terrestrial location at an identified time; (b) communicating, by the apparatus, data representative of the captured earthbound image of the sky; and (c) determining the terrestrial location of the apparatus based on the data communicated by the apparatus by comparing the captured earthbound image of the sky to a master mapping of the sky relative to the surface of the Earth; (d) wherein said determining step includes, (i) manipulating the master map of the sky into a model in which the shape of a sphere is disposed above the surface of the Earth, (ii) projecting latitude and longitude lines perpendicularly from the surface of the Earth onto the master mapping of the sky, (iii) comparing the captured earthbound image to said manipulated master mapping of the sky, and (iv) matching said captured earthbound image to said manipulated master mapping of the sky and reading the latitude and longitude values on said manipulated master map of the sky at the point where said captured earthbound image most closely matches said manipulated master map of the sky, thereby determining the terrestrial location from which the earthbound image was captured by the deployed apparatus.