CV auto-calibrated bridle method and system

1 . A method of calibrating a rigging system for a performance, comprising the steps of:

a) providing at least two movement mechanisms to a venue, the at least two movement mechanisms being arranged and disposed to position an element in a first position;

b) activating the movement mechanisms and moving the element with the movement mechanisms;

c) capturing a plurality of visual inputs of the element with at least one computer vision camera during the movement of the element in step b), the at least one computer vision camera converting the visual inputs into data capable of being transferred to a control system for processing;

d) transmitting the data to the control system and determining a base position of a component of one or more of the at least two movement mechanisms from the data with the control system; and

e) configuring the control system to include the base position of the component corresponding to the venue to enable the control system to precisely move the element within the venue.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the movement mechanisms comprise a plurality of winches.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein each winch includes a winch mechanism, a sheave and a line that runs from the winch mechanism through the sheave to the element being rigged.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the base position includes a last sheave diversion location for each winch.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the movement mechanisms comprise at least four winches.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the element being rigged is selected from the group consisting of musical equipment, lighting equipment, stage equipment, at least one prop, a human, scenery, at least one truss structure, pyrotechnic equipment, special effects equipment, at least one projector, at least one projection surface, LED video, at least one sandbag, and at least one camera.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least two movement mechanisms comprise:

a first movement mechanism including a first winch mechanism, a first sheave and a first line that runs from the first winch mechanism through the first sheave to the element; and

a second movement mechanism including a second winch mechanism, a second sheave and a second line that runs from the second winch mechanism through the second sheave to the element;

wherein the activating and moving of step b) includes moving the element with the first winch mechanism and maintaining the second winch mechanism in a stationary position, the capture of step c) includes capturing a plurality of visual inputs of the element while the first winch mechanism moves the element.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the component includes the first sheave and the base position includes the position of the first sheave within the venue.

9 . A system for calibrating a rigging system for a performance, comprising:

a) at least two movement mechanisms positioned in a venue to position an element in a first position;

b) at least one computer vision camera that captures visual inputs of the element while the movement mechanisms move the element into multiple positions and converts the visual inputs into data capable of being transferred to a control system for processing; and

c) a control system that receives the data from the computer vision camera, the control system determining a base position of a component of one or more of the at least two movement mechanisms from the data;

wherein the control system is configurable to include the base position of the component corresponding to the venue to enable the control system to precisely move the element within the venue.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the movement mechanisms comprise a plurality of winches.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein each winch includes a winch mechanism, a sheave and a line that runs from the winch mechanism through the sheave to the element being rigged.

12 . The method system of claim 10 , wherein the base position data includes a last sheave diversion location for each winch.

13 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the movement mechanisms comprise at least four winches.

14 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the element being rigged is selected from the group consisting of musical equipment, lighting equipment, stage equipment, at least one prop, a human, scenery, at least one truss structure, pyrotechnic equipment, special effects equipment, at least one projector, at least one projection surface, LED video, at least one sandbag, and at least one camera.

15 . A system for monitoring position of a rigging system for a live performance, the rigging system comprising a plurality of winches operably connected to a motion control system for suspending an object and animating flight thereof in a three-dimensional space, the system comprising:

a) at least one computer vision camera having a field of view in which the object is positioned, the computer vision camera configured to capture visual inputs of the object during movement of the object and output a digitized signal representative of the visual inputs;

b) a processing system configured to receive the digitized signals representative of the visual inputs, analyze the digitized signals to determine a base position of a component of one or more of the rigging system from the digitized signals, and configure the motion control system to include the base position of the component corresponding to the three-dimensional space to enable the control system to precisely move the element within the three-dimensional space; and

c) the motion control system configured to use the base position from the processing system to move the object for the live performance.

16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein each winch includes a winch mechanism, a sheave and a line that runs from the winch mechanism through the sheave to the object being rigged.

17 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the object being rigged is selected from the group consisting of musical equipment, lighting equipment, stage equipment, at least one prop, a human, scenery, at least one truss structure, pyrotechnic equipment, special effects equipment, at least one projector, at least one projection surface, LED video, at least one sandbag, and at least one camera.

18 . A method for monitoring position of a rigging system for a live performance, the rigging system comprising a plurality of winches operably connected to a motion control system for suspending an object and animating flight thereof in a three-dimensional space, comprising the steps of:

a) providing at least one computer vision camera having a field of view in which the object is positioned;

b) configuring the computer vision camera to capture a visual inputs of the object during movement of the object and output a digitized signal representative of the visual inputs;

c) providing a processing system to receive the digitized signals representative of the visual inputs, analyze the digitized signals to determine a base position of a component of one or more of the rigging system from the digitized signals, and configure the motion control system to include the base position of the component corresponding to the three-dimensional space to enable the control system to precisely move the element within the three-dimensional space; and

d) configuring the motion control system to use the base position from the processing system to move the object for the live performance.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein each winch includes a winch mechanism, a sheave and a line that runs from the winch mechanism through the sheave to the object being rigged.

20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the object being rigged is selected from the group consisting musical equipment, lighting equipment, stage equipment, at least one prop, a human, scenery, at least one truss structure, pyrotechnic equipment, special effects equipment, at least one projector, at least one projection surface, LED video, at least one sandbag, and at least one camera.