Passive Measurement of Three Optical Beacon Coordinates Using a Simultaneous Method

Among other things, passive methods based on the processing of images of feature points or beacons captured by an image sensor are used to measure the relative position of objects. At least two cameras usually have to be used to obtain the required information, or the cameras are combined with other sensors working on different physical principles. This paper describes the principle of passively measuring three position coordinates of an optical beacon using a simultaneous method and presents the results of corresponding experimental tests. The beacon is represented by an artificial geometric structure, consisting of several semiconductor light sources. The sources are suitably arranged to allow, all from one camera, passive measurement of the distance, two position angles, the azimuth, and the beacon elevation. The mathematical model of this method consists of working equations containing measured coordinates, geometric parameters of the beacon, and geometric parameters of the beacon image captured by the camera. All the results of these experimental tests are presented.