IP Library Granted Patent US 11,304,282
Granted Patent B2
US 11,304,282 · App. 16/708,796 · Granted Apr 12, 2022

Systems and methods for determining lighting fixture arrangement information

Inventors: Josh Jordan (Middleton, WI); Christopher Mizerak (Oceanside, CA); Chelsea Sanders (Middleton, WI); Koen Buys (Hofstade, BE)
Assignee: Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.
H05B47/155E04H3/22F21S10/023F21S10/046F21V33/006H05B47/125H05B47/19F21W2131/406
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,304,282
App. No.
16/708,796
Granted
Apr 12, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods for determining lighting fixture arrangement information (e.g., position and/or orientation). A lighting beam from the lighting fixture is directed among three discrete locations on a reference surface (e.g., by a controller). The fixture's position is determined using perspective inversion based on angular changes of the lighting fixture and coordinate data of the discrete locations (e.g., determined using a camera and a reference point on the surface). Distances from the fixture to the three discrete locations are estimated based on perspective inversion. The position of the lighting fixture is trilateralized based on the distances. Spherical coordinates of the fixture's orientation relative to the reference surface are determined, and yaw, pitch, and roll of the fixture are extracted.

Claims (64)

1. A method of determining arrangement information of a lighting fixture, the method comprising:

directing a lighting beam from a lighting fixture to each of at least three discrete locations on a reference surface;

changing an angular position of the lighting fixture to vary a direction of the lighting beam from the lighting fixture among each of the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface;

storing in a memory, by an electronic processor, angular change data of the lighting fixture each time the direction of the lighting beam is varied among each of the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface;

determining, with the electronic processor, coordinate data of each of the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface;

storing in memory, with the electronic processor, the coordinate data; and

determining, with the electronic processor, a position of the lighting fixture based on the coordinate data and the angular change data.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, with the electronic processor, an orientation of the lighting fixture based on the coordinate data and the angular change data.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the position of the lighting fixture is determined using perspective inversion.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the determining of the position of the lighting fixture includes determining a perspective inversion solution for each group of three discrete locations to return a length estimation of a distance between the lighting fixture and each of the at least three discrete locations.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising trilaterating, with the electronic processor, the position of the lighting fixture based on the length estimation of the distance between the lighting fixture and each of the at least three discrete locations.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising determining, with the electronic processor, spherical coordinates of the at least three discrete locations relative to the lighting fixture.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising transforming, with the electronic processor, the position of the lighting fixture into spherical coordinates of the lighting fixture relative to a reference plane formed by the at least three discrete locations.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising extracting yaw, pitch, and roll information about an orientation of the lighting fixture relative to the reference plane.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising outputting, with the electronic processor, the position and orientation of the lighting fixture relative to the reference plane.

10. A system for determining arrangement information of a lighting fixture, the system comprising:

a controller including an electronic processor and a memory coupled to the electronic processor, the memory storing instructions that when executed by the electronic processor configure the controller to:

direct a lighting beam from a lighting fixture to each of at least three discrete locations on a reference surface,

change an angular position of the lighting fixture to vary a direction of the lighting beam from the lighting fixture among each of the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface,

store angular change data of a lighting fixture each time a direction of a lighting beam from the lighting fixture is varied among each of at least three discrete locations on a reference surface,

determine coordinate data of each of the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface,

store the coordinate data in a memory, and

determine a position of the lighting fixture based on the coordinate data and the angular change data.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine an orientation of the lighting fixture based on the coordinate data and the angular change data.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the position of the lighting fixture is determined using perspective inversion.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the determining of the position of the lighting fixture includes determining a perspective inversion solution for each group of three discrete locations to return a length estimation of a distance between the lighting fixture and each of the at least three discrete locations.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

trilaterate the position of the lighting fixture based on the length estimation of the distance between the lighting fixture and each of the at least three discrete locations.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine spherical coordinates of the at least three discrete locations relative to the lighting fixture.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

transform the position of the lighting fixture into spherical coordinates of the lighting fixture relative to a reference plane formed by the at least three discrete locations.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

extract yaw, pitch, and roll information about an orientation of the lighting fixture relative to the reference plane.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

output the position and orientation of the lighting fixture relative to the reference plane.

19. The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine angular change data of the lighting fixture each time the direction of the lighting beam from the lighting fixture is varied between the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface,

calculate a respective distance between the lighting fixture and each of the at least three discrete locations based on the angular change data and the coordinate data,

determine the position of the lighting fixture based on the respective distances, and

output positional data indicating the position of the lighting fixture.

20. A system for determining arrangement information of a lighting fixture, the system comprising:

a controller including an electronic processor and a memory coupled to the electronic processor, the memory storing instructions that when executed by the electronic processor configure the controller to:

direct a lighting beam from a lighting fixture to each of at least three discrete locations on a reference surface,

change an angular position of the lighting fixture to vary a direction of the lighting beam from the lighting fixture among each of the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface,

determine angular change data of the lighting fixture each time the direction of the lighting beam from the lighting fixture is varied between the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface,

store angular change data of a lighting fixture each time a direction of a lighting beam from the lighting fixture is varied among each of at least three discrete locations on a reference surface,

determine coordinate data of each of the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface,

store the coordinate data in a memory,

calculate a respective distance between the lighting fixture and each of the at least three discrete locations based on the angular change data and the coordinate data,

determine a position of the lighting fixture based on the coordinate data, the angular change data, and the respective distances,

output positional data indicating the position of the lighting fixture,

determine relative spherical coordinates for the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface relative to a lighting beam axis of the lighting fixture,

designate one of the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface as a reference point for determining absolute spherical coordinates,

transform the relative spherical coordinates of the at least three discrete locations on the reference surface into absolute spherical coordinates, and

output orientation data indicating an absolute orientation of the lighting fixture, the orientation data being independent of how the lighting fixture is mounted.

21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

update image data in an interactive environment display regarding the position of the lighting fixture and an orientation of the lighting fixture based on the orientation data indicating an absolute orientation of the lighting fixture.

22. The system of claim 19 , further comprising

at least one camera configured to detect light from the lighting fixture on the reference surface, and

wherein the controller is further configured to determine a centroid of the lighting beam at each of the at least three discrete locations.

23. The system of claim 19 , wherein to direct the lighting beam, the controller is further configured to:

transmit a signal to actuate at least one motor associated with the lighting fixture to move the lighting fixture such that the lighting beam moves to the at least three discrete locations.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 7, 2020
From: JORDAN, JOSH; MIZERAK, CHRISTOPHER; SANDERS, CHELSEA; BUYS, KOEN
To: ELECTRONIC THEATRE CONTROLS, INC.
Reel/Frame 053999/0380 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62777455 · Dec 10, 2018
Related Publication 20200187335A1 · Jun 11, 2020