Computerized video imaging system for creating a realistic depiction of a simulated object in an actual environment

Claim 2

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment, the image having been obtained at a particular location in the actual environment and the image having a particular perspective; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the location of the captured video image and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving data for a three-dimensional model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) means for generating from the three-dimensional model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment; and (f) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the object is precisely positioned at the proper location in its environment.

Claim 3

A system as set forth in claim 1 including video output means operatively connected to said graphics processor means for producing a video signal of the simulation.

Claim 4

A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said object data input means comprises means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of the simulated object.

Claim 5

A system as set forth in claim 3 wherein the three-dimensional CAD model comprises a wire frame model.

Claim 6

A system as set forth in claim 3 wherein the three-dimensional CAD model comprises a solid model.

Claim 7

A system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said field data input means additionally includes means for receiving data relating to the ambient conditions, such as weather, date and time of day, existing at the location when the video image was captured.

Claim 8

A system according to claim 1 additionally including a material and texture library containing a collection of maps defining available materials and surface textures for the object, and texture mapping means operatively associated with said means for generating a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object for imparting to the two-dimensional representation of the object a surface appearance defined by a map selected from said material and texture library.

Claim 9

A system as set forth in claim 7 wherein said data input means includes means operable by the user of the system for assigning to the object, materials and textures selected from said material and texture library.

Claim 10

A system as set forth in claim 1 additionally including an image library containing a collection of additional image elements for the environment, and pre/post-processing image enhancement means, including means for selecting additional image elements from said image library and for adding such elements to the merged image produced by said means for merging for thereby enhancing the simulation.

Claim 11

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment, the image having been obtained at a particular location in the actual environment and the image having a particular perspective; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located at the proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect to its environment.

Claim 12

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment, the image having been obtained at a particular location in the actual environment and the image having a particular perspective; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located at the proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect to its environment.

Claim 13

A system as set forth in claim 10 wherein said means for generating a two-dimensional perspective representation includes means for reorienting the three-dimensional model so as to correspond with its proper orientation and scale in the actual environment before producing said two-dimensional perspective representation of the object.

Claim 14

A system as set forth in claim 10 wherein the field location data regarding the captured video image includes lighting condition data, and said system additionally including modeling means responsive to said lighting condition data for imparting to the object lighting conditions corresponding to those present in the captured video image of the environment to thereby further enhance the realism of the simulation.

Claim 15

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data including the coordinates of a camera location which captured the video image in relation to a known coordinate system, the coordinates of at least one other known location in the field of view of the camera, and data relating to the optical characteristics of the camera which captured the video image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for rotating, translating and scaling the three-dimensional CAD model so that the reference points on the three-dimensional model input by said object reference point input means coincide with the proper coordinate locations in the coordinate system of the actual environment, (g) means for generating from the three-dimensional model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a rasterized two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment; (h) means for superimposing the thus generated rasterized two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment at corresponding coordinate locations in said coordinate system, so that the object is precisely positioned at the proper location in its environment, and to thereby produce a video image simulation accurately depicting the object as it would appear in the actual environment, and (i) video output means for producing a video display of the thus produced video image simulation.

Claim 16

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data including the coordinates of a camera location which captured the video image in relation to a known coordinate system, the coordinates of at least one other known location in the field of view of the camera, and data relating to the optical characteristics of the camera which captured the video image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for rotating, translating and scaling the three-dimensional CAD model so that the reference points on the three-dimensional model input by said object reference point input means coincide with the proper coordinate locations in the coordinate system of the actual environment, (g) means for generating from the three-dimensional model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a rasterized two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment; (h) means for superimposing the thus generated rasterized two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment at corresponding coordinate locations in said coordinate system, so that the object is precisely positioned at the proper location in its environment, and to thereby produce a video image simulation accurately depicting the object as it would appear in the actual environment, and (i) video output means for producing a video display of the thus produced video image simulation.

Claim 19

The system according to claim 14 wherein said object data input means includes means for receiving and storing surface texture data representing the surface texture of the object, and wherein said means for generating a two-dimensional rasterized image of the object from said three-dimensional CAD model includes means for rendering a two-dimensional wire frame model with the surface texture defined by said surface texture data to form a surface textured solid model of the object.

Claim 22

A method as set forth in claim 16 wherein said step of providing object data defining a three-dimensional model comprises inputting CAD data for the simulated object.

Claim 23

A method as set forth in claim 16 including obtaining data relating to ambient conditions, such as weather, date and time of day, existing at the location when the video image was captured.

Claim 24

A method as set forth in claim 16 including storing in a material and texture library a collection of maps defining available materials and surface textures for the object, and texture mapping the two-dimensional representation of the object to impart to the object a surface appearance as defined by a selected map from said material and texture library.

Claim 25

A method as set forth in claim 16 including storing in an image library a collection of additional image elements for the environment, and selecting additional image elements from said image library and adding such elements to the merged video image to thereby enhance the simulation.

Claim 28

The method of claim 21 wherein said CAD model comprises a wire frame image.

Claim 29

The method of claim 21 wherein said CAD model comprises a solid model.

Claim 30

The method of claim 21 wherein the captured image of the environment is a still image.

Claim 31

The method of claim 21 wherein the captured image of the environment is a moving image.

Claim 36

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the precise location of the captured video image and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) means operatively associated with said object data input means for translating the input CAD data from one CAD data format to another standard CAD data format; (f) means for generating from the three-dimensional CAD data for said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the object is precisely positioned at the proper location in its environment.

Claim 37

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the precise location of the captured video image and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) means operatively associated with said object data input means for translating the input CAD data from one CAD data format to another standard CAD data format; (f) means for generating from the three-dimensional CAD data for said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the object is precisely positioned at the proper location in its environment.

Claim 38

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) equipment calibration means for generating calibration data relating to characteristics of particular pieces of video input equipment which may be used to capture the video image which is input to said video input means, and (b) an equipment calibration library for storing the equipment calibration data which is generated by said equipment calibration means, (c) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment; (d) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (e) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the precise location of the captured video image and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (f) object data input means for receiving data for a three-dimensional model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (g) means for generating from the three-dimensional model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment; and (h) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data and said equipment calibration data, so that the object is precisely positioned at the proper location in its environment.

Claim 39

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) equipment calibration means for generating calibration data relating to characteristics of particular pieces of video input equipment which may be used to capture the video image which is input to said video input means, and (b) an equipment calibration library for storing the equipment calibration data which is generated by said equipment calibration means, (c) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment; (d) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (e) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the precise location of the captured video image and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (f) object data input means for receiving data for a three-dimensional model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (g) means for generating from the three-dimensional model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment; and (h) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data and said equipment calibration data, so that the object is precisely positioned at the proper location in its environment.

Claim 40

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment, the image having been obtained at a particular location in the actual environment and the image having a particular perspective; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment, said means for generating a two-dimensional perspective representation including means for rotating and translating the three-dimensional CAD mode with the use of said reference points so that the reference points coincide with the proper coordinate position in the coordinate system of the environment; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located at the proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect for its environment.

Claim 41

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment, the image having been obtained at a particular location in the actual environment and the image having a particular perspective; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment, said means for generating a two-dimensional perspective representation including means for rotating and translating the three-dimensional CAD mode with the use of said reference points so that the reference points coincide with the proper coordinate position in the coordinate system of the environment; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located at the proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect for its environment.

Claim 42

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment, the image having been obtained at a particular location in the actual environment and the image having a particular perspective; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image, the field perspective data including data defining a location of the camera and a center of view of the video image seen by the camera; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment, said means for generating a two-dimensional perspective including means for transforming the perspective of the two-dimensional representation in accordance with said field perspective data defining the camera location and center of view; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located at the proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect to its environment.

Claim 43

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment, the image having been obtained at a particular location in the actual environment and the image having a particular perspective; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image, the field perspective data including data defining a location of the camera and a center of view of the video image seen by the camera; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment, said means for generating a two-dimensional perspective including means for transforming the perspective of the two-dimensional representation in accordance with said field perspective data defining the camera location and center of view; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located at the proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect to its environment.

Claim 44

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding a precise location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a spherical perspective to closely match any image distortion of the captured video image of the actual environment; (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located at the proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect to its environment.

Claim 45

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding a precise location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a spherical perspective to closely match any image distortion of the captured video image of the actual environment; (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located at the proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect to its environment.

Claim 46

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment, the image having been obtained at a particular location in the actual environment and the image having a particular perspective; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment, said means for generating a two-dimensional perspective representation including line preprocessor means for segmenting long lines of the three-dimensional model into shorter segments before conversion to two-dimensional perspective so that long straight lines present in the object will be distorted in a way similar to distortion present in the captured video image of the environment; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located the proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect to its environment.

Claim 47

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment, the image having been obtained at a particular location in the actual environment and the image having a particular perspective; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment, said means for generating a two-dimensional perspective representation including line preprocessor means for segmenting long lines of the three-dimensional model into shorter segments before conversion to two-dimensional perspective so that long straight lines present in the object will be distorted in a way similar to distortion present in the captured video image of the environment; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located the proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect to its environment.

Claim 48

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment, the image having been obtained at a particular location in the actual environment and the image having a particular perspective; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment, said means for generating a two-dimensional perspective including means for compensating for camera lens distortion to thereby provide a more accurate simulation; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located at a proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect to its environment.

Claim 49

A video imaging system for producing a video image simulation realistically depicting how a simulated object would appear in an actual environment, comprising (a) video input means for receiving a captured video image of an actual environment, the image having been obtained at a particular location in the actual environment and the image having a particular perspective; (b) graphics processor means for receiving the video image from said video input means and for storing the video image in rasterized form; (c) field data input means for receiving field location data regarding the location of the captured video image in relation to a known coordinate system and field perspective data regarding the perspective of the captured image; (d) object data input means for receiving CAD data for a three-dimensional CAD model of a simulated object which is proposed to be included in the environment; (e) object reference point input means for defining reference points representing known locations on the three-dimensional model and for assigning to said reference points coordinates in said known coordinate system where the reference points on the object are to be located; (f) means for generating from the CAD data for the three-dimensional CAD model of said object, through the use of said field perspective data, a two-dimensional perspective representation of the object in a perspective which accurately matches the perspective of the captured video image of the actual environment, said means for generating a two-dimensional perspective including means for compensating for camera lens distortion to thereby provide a more accurate simulation; and (g) means for merging the thus generated two-dimensional perspective representation of the object with said rasterized video image of the environment and for positioning the object, through the use of said field location data, so that the defined reference points on the object are located at a proper coordinates in said known coordinate system of the actual environment so that the object is precisely positioned with respect to its environment.