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

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.