Data capture system for texture and geometry acquisition

1. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory coupled to the at least one processor, the memory comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, performs a method comprising:

receiving signal data;

processing the signal data, wherein the processing comprises determining a time associated with the signal data;

synchronizing one or more sensors of the system;

using the one or more sensors, acquiring environmental data from an environment; and

providing feedback associated with the acquired environmental data.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the signal data is received from a global navigation system.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a rigid frame, wherein the one or more sensors are mounted to the rigid frame.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the synchronizing comprises aligning the one or more sensors in pose and position with respect to the rigid frame.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the acquiring comprises at least one of:

measuring a distance between at least one of the one or more sensors and one or more objects in the environment;

recording image data of the environment, wherein the image data comprises at least one of the group consisting of images, still video and video;

recording a change in position over time of the one or more sensors; and

measuring a velocity, an orientation, and gravitational forces of one or more objects in the environment.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the environmental data is used to construct a geometry representing the environment, and wherein the environmental data is further used to texture the geometry.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the environmental data is further used to interpolate movement data within the textured geometry.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the feedback comprises a three-dimensional, textured representation of the environment.

9. The system of claim 1 , further comprising: generating one or more timestamps using the time associated with the signal data, wherein the one or more timestamps are affixed to the environmental data.

10. A system comprising:

an antenna configured to receive signal data;

a panoramic head configured to acquire image data of an environment, wherein the image data comprises at least one of the group consisting of images, still video and video;

a radar sensor configured to measure a distance between the radar sensor and one or more objects in an environment;

a visual odometry sensor configured to determine a change in a position of the visual odometry sensor over time;

an orientation and navigation sensor configured to determine a position, a velocity and an orientation of the orientation and navigation sensor; and

a processing unit configured to process information received from at least one of the antenna, the panoramic head, the radar sensor, the visual odometry sensor, and the orientation and navigation sensor;

wherein one or more sensors of the system are operable to be kinematically aligned upon receiving the signal data.

11. The system of claim 10 , further comprising: a rigid frame, the rigid frame comprising the antenna, the panoramic head, the radar sensor, and the orientation and navigation sensor.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the panoramic head comprises a rigid construction and a plurality of cameras, wherein the plurality of cameras are mounted to the rigid construction in a configuration that provides for a panoramic image of the environment.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of cameras comprises a first camera having a first focal point and a second camera having a second focal point, wherein the first camera and the second camera are positioned with respect to one another to avoid visible parallaxes.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the panoramic head comprises a cooling system having an active portion and a passive portion, wherein the active portion includes a fan assembly and the passive portion includes affixing cooling fins to one or more of the plurality of cameras.

15. The system of claim 12 , further comprising: a software readout mechanism that provides for a selection of a readout direction for each of the plurality of cameras.

16. The system of claim 10 , wherein processing the information comprises:

constructing a geometry representing the environment, wherein the geometry is constructed based at least in part on the information; and

applying a texture to the geometry.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein processing the information further comprises:

identifying a correspondence between two or more portions of the information; and

generating a representation of an apparent motion of one or more objects in the textured geometry.

18. The system of claim 10 , further comprising a system clock, wherein at least the radar sensor, the visual odometry sensor, and the orientation and navigation sensor are synchronized to the system clock.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the synchronized sensors are used to transform the information into a spatial coordinate system.

20. A method for capturing data, the method comprising:

receiving, by a data capture system, signal data from a global navigation system;

processing the signal data, wherein the processing comprises determining a time associated with the signal data;

synchronizing one or more sensors of the data capture system, wherein the synchronizing comprises aligning the one or more sensors in pose and position with respect to a rigid frame;

using the one or more sensors, acquiring environmental data from an environment, wherein the environmental data is used to construct a geometry representing the environment; and

providing feedback associated with the acquired environmental data, wherein the feedback comprises a three-dimensional representation of the environment.