Cell Feature Extraction and Labeling Thereof

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention determine the surface profile of certain classes of work surface. More specifically, embodiments of the invention measure the three-dimensional locus of points that define the “virtual” continuous surface fitted to the ends of the walls of a cellular core.

What we claim as our invention is: 
     
         1 . A method for determining a profile of a work surface comprising a cellular core, the cellular core comprising a plurality of cells having a plurality of walls with a plurality of ends, the method comprising:
 (A) capturing first and second pluralities of images of the work surface, comprising capturing the first plurality from a first viewpoint and capturing the second plurality from a second viewpoint which differs from the first viewpoint, said first and second pluralities of images lying in a plurality of planes, comprising:
 (A)(1) capturing a plurality of structured light images of the work surface, comprising capturing at least one image in the first plurality and at least one image in the second plurality using structured light; 
   (B) producing, from the first and second pluralities of images and the plurality of structured light images, a representation of a three-dimensional locus of points defining a virtual continuous surface fitted to the plurality of ends of the plurality of walls of the cellular core, comprising:
 (B)(1) finding, based on the first and second pluralities of images, a first and second plurality of junctions of the plurality of cells in the first and second pluralities of images; 
 (B)(2) calculating a first and second plurality of locations, in the planes of the first and second plurality of images, of the first and second plurality of junctions of the plurality of cells in the first and second plurality of images; 
 (B)(3) associating a plurality of labels with the plurality of cells in the plurality of images; and 
 (B)(4) triangulating a plurality of three-dimensional coordinates of the plurality of cells based on the first and second plurality of junctions in the first and second plurality of images and the plurality of labels. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second plurality of locations comprises a first and second plurality of centroids of the first and second plurality of junctions. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein (A) comprises capturing the first and second pluralities of images using at least one first camera, and wherein (A)(1) comprises capturing the plurality of structured light images using the at least one first camera. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein (A)(1) comprises:
 (A)(1)(a) projecting a structured light pattern onto the work surface; and   (A)(1)(b) capturing the plurality of structured light images while the structured light pattern is projected onto the work surface.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein (A) comprises:
 (A)(1) generating a particular image in the first plurality of images with a generally uniform exposure across the work surface, comprising:
 (A)(1)(a) applying generally uniform illumination to the work surface; and 
 (A)(1)(b) capturing the particular image while the work surface is illuminated. 
   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein (A) comprises:
 (A)(1) generating a particular image in the first plurality of images with a generally uniform exposure across the work surface, comprising:
 (A)(1)(a) capturing a plurality of structured light images of the work surface using structured light, said plurality of structured light images lying in one plane; and 
 (A)(1)(b) synthesizing the particular image from the plurality of structured light images. 
   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein (A) comprises capturing the first and second plurality of images using a single image capture device. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein (A) comprises capturing the first and second plurality of images using a plurality of image capture devices. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first and second plurality of images comprise at least a first image and a second image, and wherein (A) comprises capturing the first image using a first camera and capturing the second image using a second camera. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus for determining a profile of a work surface comprising a cellular core, the cellular core comprising a plurality of cells having a plurality of walls with a plurality of ends, the apparatus comprising:
 means for capturing first and second pluralities of images of the work surface, comprising capturing the first plurality from a first viewpoint and capturing the second plurality from a second viewpoint which differs from the first viewpoint, said first and second pluralities of images lying in a plurality of planes, comprising:   means for capturing a plurality of structured light images of the work surface, comprising capturing at least one image in the first plurality and at least one image in the second plurality using structured light;   means for producing, from the first and second pluralities of images and the plurality of structured light images, a representation of a three-dimensional locus of points defining a virtual continuous surface fitted to the plurality of ends of the plurality of walls of the cellular core, comprising:
 means for finding, based on the first and second pluralities of images, a first and second plurality of junctions of the plurality of cells in the first and second pluralities of images; 
 means for calculating a first and second plurality of locations, in the planes of the first and second plurality of images, of the first and second plurality of junctions of the plurality of cells in the first and second plurality of images; 
 means for associating a plurality of labels with the plurality of cells in the plurality of images; and 
 means for triangulating a plurality of three-dimensional coordinates of the plurality of cells based on the first and second plurality of junctions in the first and second plurality of images and the plurality of labels.