Aircraft component tracking using image data
A method of monitoring a location of a component of an aircraft includes acquiring an image of the component during flight by an imaging device disposed at a selected location relative to the aircraft and oriented along a selected direction relative to an aircraft structure, identifying a position of the component within the image, estimating a distance in the image between the component and a reference location depicted in the image, and estimating an actual location of the component based on the distance in the image. Estimating the actual location includes correlating the distance in the image with an actual distance between the component and the reference location.
1. A method of monitoring a location of a component of an aircraft, the method comprising:
acquiring an image of the component during flight by an imaging device disposed at a selected location relative to the aircraft and oriented along a selected direction relative to an aircraft structure;
identifying a position of the component within the image;
estimating a distance in the image between the component and a reference location depicted in the image; and
estimating an actual location of the component based on the distance in the image, wherein estimating the actual location includes correlating the distance in the image with an actual distance between the component and the reference location.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image is an optical image taken by a camera disposed at the aircraft.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the distance in the image corresponds to a number of pixels along a line connecting the component and the reference location.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference location is a location in the image of an image feature representing a clearance region in a field of view of the imaging device.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference location is a location of structural component of the aircraft.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing a calibration with the imaging device prior to takeoff of the aircraft.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the calibration includes taking a reference image by the imaging device when the imaging device is at the selected location and is oriented along the selected direction, and correlating pixel width to an actual distance value.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising controlling operation of the aircraft based on the actual distance.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the aircraft is a helicopter, the component is a rotor blade, and the position of the component in the image is a position of a blade tip during rotation of the rotor blade.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the reference location is a location of at least one of a structural component of the aircraft and a selected clearance region depicted by the image.
11. A system for monitoring a location of a component of an aircraft, the system comprising:
a processor; and
memory coupled to the processor and comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform:
acquiring an image of the component during flight by an imaging device disposed at a selected location relative to the aircraft and oriented along a selected direction relative to an aircraft structure;
identifying a position of the component within the image;
estimating a distance in the image between the component and a reference location depicted in the image; and
estimating an actual location of the component based on the distance in the image, wherein estimating the actual location includes correlating the distance in the image with an actual distance between the component and the reference location.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the image is an optical image taken by a camera disposed at the aircraft.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the distance in the image corresponds to a number of pixels along a line connecting the component and the reference location.
14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the reference location is a location in the image of an image feature representing a clearance region in a field of view of the imaging device.
15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the reference location is a location of structural component of the aircraft.
16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to perform a calibration with the imaging device prior to takeoff of the aircraft.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the calibration includes taking a reference image by the imaging device when the imaging device is at the selected location and is oriented along the selected direction, and correlating pixel width to an actual distance value.
18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processing device is configured to perform at least one of controlling operation of the aircraft and notifying a human operator based on the actual distance.
19. The system of claim 11 , wherein the aircraft is a helicopter, the component is a rotor blade, and the position of the component in the image is a position of a blade tip during rotation of the rotor blade.
20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the reference location is a location of at least one of a structural component of the aircraft and a selected clearance region depicted by the image.