METHOD OF LOCATION DETERMINING OF AN OBJECT
FIELD OF THE UTILITY MODEL
The utility model belongs to the field of Arts, Design, Setting and can be used in technical support for special events such as theatrical production, musical concerts, film productions, TV sets, presentation etc.
PRIOR ART
Special equipment known from the level of techniques:
- automatically controllable lighting equipment ("moving head" type)
- controllable video projectors on motorized yoke
- micro devices build on a chip housing that allow to determine the distance to the objects and between them by calculating the time of a path of radio signal motion (between devices), direction respective to the magnetic poles of the Earth by using a 3 dimensional magnetic compass; positioning direction of object going up and down understanding the gravity field information from the gyroscope and acceleration measurement.
Determination of an object location can be done in different ways described in following patents and publications:
The Ukraine Patent for an invention No 59366 describes the method and the device, acting and processing in real time to identify and localize the site, which carries out a relative motion within the observation area, and to determine the speed and oriented direction of the above mentioned relative motion in real time. The method allows to perform a time processing of an incoming digital video signal S (PI), which is to identify changes between each pixel in a picture and an immediately previous picture, binary signal DP, which indicates the presence or absence of a significant change, and digital signal CO that identifies the value of this change, and spatial processing, which is to distribute across the matrix panel of two mentioned signals consistently for a single-picture, that is screened through the matrix panel, as well as to define the necessary relative motion and its characteristics across the indicated matrix distribution;
The Ukraine Patent for an invention No 96206 determines the method of location identification of an object, which is based on the fact that the sources of the magnetic field in the form of current loops have an equal square and do not intersect; these sources of the magnetic field are placed in each of the four different points of the object in such a way that these points are located on two mutually orthogonal straight lines, at a fixed distance from the point of intersection of the straight lines and symmetrically respectively the mentioned point of intersection; choose the location of one space point outside the object and place a vectorial magnetometer to the mentioned point; activate one of these sources of the magnetic field and register the value of the magnetic induction vector in the selected point; the procedure is repeated for each of the four indicated sources of the magnetic field, which differs depending that the fixed distance between the location points of the specified sources is several times smaller than the distance to the location point of the vectorial magnetometer; activate in pairs sources of the magnetic field on the gradient system, register values of five separate spatial derivatives of the magnetic induction vector of the first-order in the selected point and on the basis of the received values determine the value of the direction to the object; activate simultaneously all four sources of the magnetic field, register the value of the magnetic induction vector in the selected point and determine the distance to the object on the basis of the received values;
The publication WO/2010/025559 gives the description of a method of monitoring in real time and a control module (RTM), which are designated to coordinate one or more than one device or an object in a physical environment. The virtual space is created for the correlation with various objects and parameters within the physical environment. RTM can receive data on the characteristics and indicators of physical objects and duly update the parameters of virtual objects in the virtual space. RTM can also provide data, received from the virtual space regarding one or more devices such as robot-based cameras in real time mode. Interface for RTM allows multiple devices to interact with RTM, thus coordinating devices.
The publication WO/2004/081602 gives the description of a radio frequency (RF) motion capture system, which includes non-removable receipt sensors, one or more tag marker transmitters for one or multiple objects that must be monitored within the capture area of at least one non removable mounting tag transmitter, and the system for processing of incoming signals. Separate tags transmit a burst of RF signals with a spread spectrum. The transmitted signals contain a general synchronization code, as well as an identification code of the tag, which is a unique for each tag. By calculating of double differences of a pseudo range, the time terms are dampened, allowing the processing system to determine the exact location of each tag as it moves through the capture area without the need to synchronize hours between the sensors and the tags.
The system described in the document EP1666912 (A1 ) can be the closest analogue of this utility model. All distance measurements in this prototype are solved by calculating the time on a radio signal path from the base station to the base station of/on reference object which location is known, after each result of a time spend on a path of radio signal from the base stations and base station of/on reference object compares to get the position of a reference object which has to be determined. Disadvantages of this system are:
- necessity of use of a big amount of stations (more than 3 bases)
- necessity of a reference object with a station
- necessity of setting each line of data transmission from base stations to the computer
- necessity of a computer to do all the calculations.
Main difference of this utility model is absence of the computer- calculation server which calculates all the data of location determining and processing controlling signal of base stations. Based on it, this utility model does not require installing data transmission lines from base stations to computer. In this utility model also reduced the number of sensors because it does not require the base station of reference object. Except position determining of each sensor by calculation the time of a path of radio signal motion (between devices), this utility model uses magnetic pole of the Earth to get orientation of the objects according to Earth's axises and its motion dynamic.
Utility model created for location determining of an object and tracking it by controllable lighting equipment or other controllable devices, and processing controlling signal to controllable equipment to be focused on an object in field of stage or similar space without external computers to calculate the data of object positioning. Namely the main difference of this utility model is absence of the computer-calculation server which calculates all the data of location determining using 3D model of a space, and processing controlling signal to controllable moving lighting equipment or other controllable devices.
The ask of proposed Method of "Method of location determining of an object" use of micro devices-sensors build on a chip housing, by putting on or putting by the controllable lighting fixtures (intelligent lighting devices) and on object, which location has to be determined. These micro devices are specially programmed due to a special algorithm to solve our task of location determine of an object. Each micro device made as separate assembled device. Each assembled micro elements, microchip view, on printed circuit board of these sensors operate with one of the following functions:
1 ) gyroscope and accelerometer are made on one microchip. Functions of this microchip are determining gravitational pull of the Earth direction according to the position of a sensor and determining of dynamic motion performance of a sensor;
2) three-axis magnetic compass made on one microchip. Function of this microchip is determining the direction of the sensor according to the magnetic pole of the Earth;
3) radio transceiver made on a one microchip. Function of this microchip is calculation of a distance to the similar microchip;
4) microcontroller made on one microchip. Its function is calculations based on preprogrammed algorithm;
5) on-board battery.
Calculations of length of each triangle's sides are the basis of this algorithm, where each side of triangles forms sides of "tetrahedron" and on each top point of this tetrahedron installed sensors (shown on Fig" 1 ). Points A, B, C are forming the base of "tetrahedron" and point D is a top of it. Top point D is the object which location has to be determined. In ADC triangle: AC is a base side of triangle with fixed length, AD and CD sides have similar top point D and their lengths could be different according to point D location. According to the information from sensors we can get length of AC, CB, BA sides, their lengths are fixed and form the bases data for our system. According to the information from sensors we can get length of sides AD, CD, BC in exact moment in exact position of object in point D. Also the algorithm understands that AD, CD, BD forms sides of tetrahedron with a top in point D. And this top point D is an object, which location we're determining. Informational data of object's D dynamic motion performance is calculated in object tracking algorithm by lighting equipment.
Algorithm of object location determining in three-dimentional (3D) environmental (Fig.1 ) based on principals of construction of tetrahedron, where A, B, C points forms the base and they are lighting equipment with build in sensors. While top point D is an object with sensor and its location has to be determined.
Informational data about distance between sensors, about their positioning/orientation (Up or Down) according to the Earth, about incline/angle (azimuth) according to the magnetic poles of the Earth allows the sensor to process controlling signal (x,y,z), based on preprogrammed algorithm inside of microcontroller, to focus the beams from lighting equipment on the object.
Determining the location and tracking the object in a plane (2D) space, e.g. horizontal plane of the stage (Fig.2), sensors installed at two devices (e.g. A and B) and one sensor at the object (D) seems to be enough.
The system allows determining the location and tracking more than one object. For this reason the algorithm is repeating as many time as many tracking objects in the system. Thus, each sensor at the lighting devices has a complete picture of 3D locations of each lighting device and tracking object in the top of the tetrahedron. As a tetrahedron bottom is fixed, there's no need to do extra calculations of their coordinates, and thus, the position of an object is easily calculated by triangles which forms the sides of tetrahedron.