OBJECT AND VEHICLE DETECTION AND TRACKING USING 3-D LASER RANGEFINDER
First Claim
1. A method for detecting and tracking objects near a vehicle, said method comprising:
- providing a plurality of scan points from a laser rangefinder, said scan points representing locations in a space surrounding the vehicle where an object has been detected by the laser rangefinder;
using the scan points and vehicle dynamics data to establish a location of a ground plane;
using the scan points and the location of the ground plane to construct an object occupancy map and an object elevation map; and
using the scan points and the object occupancy map to create dynamic object data, where the dynamic object data identifies and tracks objects which are moving.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for detecting and tracking objects near a vehicle using a three dimensional laser rangefinder. The method receives points from the laser rangefinder, where the points represent locations in space where the rangefinder senses that some object exists. An algorithm first estimates the location of a ground plane, based on a previous ground plane location, data from onboard sensors, and an eigenvector calculation applied to the point data. Next, a plan view occupancy map and elevation map are computed for stationary objects, based on point data in relation to the ground plane. Finally, dynamic objects are detected and tracked, sensing objects which are moving, such as other vehicles, pedestrians, and animals. The output of the method is a set of stationary and dynamic objects, including their shape, range, and velocity. This output can be used by downstream applications.
88 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for detecting and tracking objects near a vehicle, said method comprising:
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providing a plurality of scan points from a laser rangefinder, said scan points representing locations in a space surrounding the vehicle where an object has been detected by the laser rangefinder; using the scan points and vehicle dynamics data to establish a location of a ground plane; using the scan points and the location of the ground plane to construct an object occupancy map and an object elevation map; and using the scan points and the object occupancy map to create dynamic object data, where the dynamic object data identifies and tracks objects which are moving. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for detecting and tracking objects near a vehicle, said method comprising:
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providing a plurality of scan points from a laser rangefinder, said scan points representing locations in a space surrounding the vehicle where an object has been detected by the laser rangefinder; using the scan points and vehicle dynamics data to establish a definition of a ground surface; using the scan points and the definition of the ground surface to construct an object occupancy map and an object elevation map; using the scan points and the object occupancy map to create dynamic object data, where the dynamic object data identifies and tracks objects which are moving; and using the object occupancy map and the dynamic object data in an application in the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for detecting and tracking objects near a vehicle, said system comprising:
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a laser rangefinder in the vehicle for providing a plurality of scan points, where the scan points represent locations in a space surrounding the vehicle where an object has been detected by the laser rangefinder; a first processor configured to compute a ground surface and create an object occupancy map using the scan points; a second processor configured to identify and track dynamic objects using the object occupancy map and the scan points; and a shared memory module for sharing data between the first processor and the second processor. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification