Model-based synthesis of sensor location

A system that automatically generates the possible camera locations for observing an object is described. The approach, which uses models of the object and the camera, is based on meeting the requirements that the spatial resolution be above a minimum value, all surface points be in focus, all surfaces lie within the sensor field-of-view, and no surface points be occluded. Each sensing requirement is converted into a geometric constraint on the sensor location, from which the three-dimensional region of viewpoints that satisfies that constraint is computed. The intersection of these regions is the space where a sensor may be located.<<ETX>>