COMPUTING RANGE AND 3-D STRUCTURE OF RIGID OBJECTS USING STEREO AND MOTION.

THIS RESEARCH PROJECT INTENDS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF DETERMINING THE RANGE AND 3-D STRUCTURE OF RIGID OBJECTS USING BOTH STEREO AND MOTION. THE PROBLEM IS OF SIGNIFICANTIMPORTANCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTONOMOUS OMVS FOR DOCKING, SERVICING AND REPAIR OPERATIONS IN SPACE. THE INNOVATION CLAIMED IN THIS RESEARCH PROJECT INCLUDES THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFICIENT AND RELIABLE ALGORITHMS FOR RANGE-FINDING AND 3-D RECONSTRUCTION. THIS CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THE USE OF BOTH STEREO AND MOTION TO SOLVE THE CORRESPONDENCE AMBIGUITY PROBLEM. A PLAN-GUIDED SCHEME IS ALSO INCORPORATED TO IMPROVE RELIABLE SEARCH AND TO REDUCE PROCESSING TIME. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT INCLUDE THEDEVELOPMENT OF A BASIC FRAMEWORK FOR COMBINING STEREO AND MOTION, THE DEVELOPMENT OF FAST AND RELIABLE ALGORITHMS FOR 3-D OBJECTS, AND SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF SYSTEM PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF SEVERAL NOISE SOURCES. TO TEST AND EVALUATE THE METHOD, REAL AND SYNTHETIC DATA WILL BE EMPLOYED. THE OVERALL EFFORT WILL INCLUDE THE GENERATION OF DATA BASES, ALGORITHM DEVELOPMENT AND TEST/EVALUATION. THE APPROACH CAN BE EXTENDED TO OTHER 3-D IMAGING PROBLEMS SUCH AS RIGID OBJECTS IN MOTION WITH MOVINGPARTS. COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS INCLUDE ROBOTICS, AUTONOMOUSLANDING VEHICLES ETC.