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Real-time monocular image-based path detection

A GPU-based embedded solution for on-board execution on mobile robots

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Abstract

In this work, we present a new real-time image-based monocular path detection method. It does not require camera calibration and works on semi-structured outdoor paths. The core of the method is based on segmenting images and classifying each super-pixel to infer a contour of navigable space. This method allows a mobile robot equipped with a monocular camera to follow different naturally delimited paths. The contour shape can be used to calculate the forward and steering speed of the robot. To achieve real-time computation necessary for on-board execution in mobile robots, the image segmentation is implemented on a low-power embedded GPU. The validity of our approach has been verified with an image dataset of various outdoor paths as well as with a real mobile robot.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic by project 7AMB12AR022 and by Ministry of Science of Argentina by project ARC/11/11.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Robotics and Embedded Systems, Computer Science Department, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, University of Buenos Aires, Pabellón I-Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Pablo De Cristóforis, Matías A. Nitsche & Marta Mejail

  2. Intelligent and Mobile Robotics Group, Department of Cybernetics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Karlovo náměstí 13, Prague 2, Czech Republic

    Tomáš Krajník

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  1. Pablo De Cristóforis
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  2. Matías A. Nitsche
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  3. Tomáš Krajník
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  4. Marta Mejail
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Correspondence to Pablo De Cristóforis.

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Cristóforis, P.D., Nitsche, M.A., Krajník, T. et al. Real-time monocular image-based path detection. J Real-Time Image Proc 11, 335–348 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11554-013-0356-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11554-013-0356-z

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