358-Sightline Control Basics for Geo-Pointing and Locating - Part 1

By: Peter J. Kennedy, PE

Preview Course Read/Print Test Author's Page

Having trouble opening course PDF documents?

Course Objective

Describe theory and system level architectures

Course Description

358-Sightline Control Basics for Geo-Pointing and Locating - Part 1

This is a three part course discussing geo-pointing and locating. With the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) coupled with advancements in camera and inertial measurement sensor technology; this is fast becoming a technology used in many applications requiring geo-referenced imagery. Historical applications for military and civilian surveillance and navigation are fairly well documented and continue to grow. But the technology is now the cornerstone for numerous situational awareness applications such as environmental, fire protection, road/bridge surveillance, maintenance and protection. It may even be part of your pizza delivery service, which for those of you with bevy of children could be a sobering thought.

The course is organized as three topics; the first addresses generic sightline control (SLC). As geo-locating requires geo-pointing and pointing requires maintaining a stable line of sight (LOS) to a targeted object or area, then an understanding of SLC is important. The second topic focusses on the geo-pointing problem given a stable sightline to the object to be geo-located. Finally the basics of geo-location, using direct and image geo-registration, are described. Many SLC sections in Part 1.0 require some background in control theory as well as mathematical operations with vectors and matrices. For those interested in geo-pointing and location at a system level; these sections will be somewhat tedious. However, it is not essential to follow all the math but it is important to understand the need for it and how it plays into an overall solution. Similarly there is a lot of detailed discussion on pointing techniques, for example one section is dedicated to using mirrors for pointing. The details may not be critical, but it is important to understand that with all the benefits obtained using a pointing mirror, they also have characteristics that must be understood and accounted for in the design or one will be in for a rather unpleasant surprise. Pointing design should follow a top down design procedure; beginning with requirements through HW and SW design and implementation. However given cost and schedule constraints, one is often forced into an off the shelf design with compromised performance. Understanding the design requirements, however, should not be compromised so related performance can be quantified and improved in future designs. The purpose of the course is to lay a framework for understanding this design process. There should be sufficient math detail for those interested at the equation level but hopefully adequate course structure for those not so inclined to still follow the overall design process. Test questions are at a system level. The course has a two part structure; Part 1.0 covers SLC basics and geo-pointing, Part 2.0 provides a brief review of Part 1.0 followed by a focus on geo-locating, and finally Part 3.0 describes camera sensor characteristics and requirements for geo-locating.

Questions about this course? Email the Author: peterkennedy@optonline.net

Star (1)
Star (0)
Star(0)
Star (0)
Star (0)

(5) 1 Review

Review of: Sightline Control Basics for Geo-Pointing

Christopher P Rahaim

06/24/2022

Verified Buyer

Great Overview Course! Detailed enough to be a great refresher for the important Sightline Control Basics - yet at the right level for a general engineer to understand the requirements to look for when evaluating a geo-pointing system.

1 of 1 customers found this helpful.

Was this helpful?

SAVE 20%

Order the Complete Set of 3 Courses for $180.00!

Click Here to Order & Save

You Must Use This Button to Get The Savings

Course Code: 100239-04

Course PDH Hours: 4

Engineering Course Approvals

This course is accepted for engineering continuing education credit in all US states, territories, the District of Columbia, and Canadian provinces.
Ohio rules allow only 6-hours of unsupervised online courses such as this course per license renewal period
Kansas rules allow only 5-hours of self-study courses such as this course per license renewal period

About Course Approvals