Monocular Vision Localization Using a Gimbaled Laser Range Sensor
Yates, Don J.
Synopsis "Monocular Vision Localization Using a Gimbaled Laser Range Sensor"
There have been great advances in recent years in the area of indoor navigation. Many of these new navigation systems rely on digital images to aid an inertial navigation estimates. The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has been conducting research in this area for a number of years. The image-aiding techniques are centered around tracking stationary features in order to improve inertial navigation estimates. Previous research has used stereo vision systems or terrain constraints with monocular systems to estimate feature locations. While these methods have shown good results, they do have drawbacks. First, as unmanned exploration vehicles become smaller in size the distance available to create a baseline between two cameras decreases resulting in a decrease of distancing accuracy. Second, if using a monocular system, terrain data might not be known in an unexplored environment. This research explores the use of a small gimbaled laser range sensor and monocular camera to estimate feature locations.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
