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A novel 3D sensory system for robot-assisted mapping of cluttered urban search and rescue environments

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Abstract

In this paper, the first application of utilizing a unique 3D sensor for sequential 3D map building in unknown cluttered urban search and rescue (USAR) environments is proposed. The sensor utilizes a digital fringe projection and phase shifting technique to provide real-time 2D and 3D sensory information of the environment. The proposed sensor is unique over current technologies in that high-resolution 3D information of rubble filled environments can be acquired from the single sensor at a speed of 30 frames per second (fps). Furthermore, we propose the development of a novel robust and reliable landmark identification technique that utilizes both 2D and 3D depth images taken by the sensor for 3D mapping. Preliminary experiments show the potential of the real-time 3D sensory system and landmark identification scheme for robotic 3D mapping in unknown cluttered USAR-like environments.

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Correspondence to Goldie Nejat.

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Zhang, Z., Nejat, G., Guo, H. et al. A novel 3D sensory system for robot-assisted mapping of cluttered urban search and rescue environments. Intel Serv Robotics 4, 119–134 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11370-010-0082-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11370-010-0082-3

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