Sample Consensus Algorithm Research Articles

Real-time unstructured road detection based on CNN and Gibbs energy function

Road detection algorithms with high robustness as well as timeliness are the basis for developing intelligent assisted driving systems. To improve the robustness as well as the timeliness of unstructured road detection, a new algorithm is proposed in this paper. First, for the first frame in the video, the homography matrix H is estimated based on the improved random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm for different regions in the image, and the features of H are automatically extracted using convolutional neural network (CNN), which in turn enables road detection. Secondly, in order to improve the rate of subsequent similar frame detection, the color as well as texture features of the road are extracted from the detection results of the first frame, and the corresponding Gaussian mixture models (GMMs) are constructed based on Orchard-Bouman, and then the Gibbs energy function is used to achieve road detection in subsequent frames. Finally, the above algorithm is verified in a real unstructured road scene, and the experimental results show that the algorithm is 98.4% accurate and can process 58 frames per second with 1024×960 pixels.

Research on robot scene recognition based on improved feature point matching algorithm

A new feature description method based on the fusion of fast retina keypoint (FREAK) and the rotation-aware binary robust independent elementary features (rRBRIEF) is proposed to realize the effective combination of efficiency and accuracy of the two feature descriptions. In addition, in the elimination stage of mismatched point pairs, by setting the base point and its neighborhood, an improved neighborhood parallel random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is proposed to achieve efficient parallel operation of the algorithm in multiple local neighborhoods. The improved feature point matching algorithm and the existing algorithm were tested in different scales, different rotations, different illuminations, and different fuzzy data sets. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm improves the average scene recognition accuracy by 18.21%, improves the efficiency by 15.58%, and shows good robustness.

Continuous Feature-Based Tracking of the Inner Ear for Robot-Assisted Microsurgery.

Robotic systems for surgery of the inner ear must enable highly precise movement in relation to the patient. To allow for a suitable collaboration between surgeon and robot, these systems should not interrupt the surgical workflow and integrate well in existing processes. As the surgical microscope is a standard tool, present in almost every microsurgical intervention and due to it being in close proximity to the situs, it is predestined to be extended by assistive robotic systems. For instance, a microscope-mounted laser for ablation. As both, patient and microscope are subject to movements during surgery, a well-integrated robotic system must be able to comply with these movements. To solve the problem of on-line registration of an assistance system to the situs, the standard of care often utilizes marker-based technologies, which require markers being rigidly attached to the patient. This not only requires time for preparation but also increases invasiveness of the procedure and the line of sight of the tracking system may not be obstructed. This work aims at utilizing the existing imaging system for detection of relative movements between the surgical microscope and the patient. The resulting data allows for maintaining registration. Hereby, no artificial markers or landmarks are considered but an approach for feature-based tracking with respect to the surgical environment in otology is presented. The images for tracking are obtained by a two-dimensional RGB stream of a surgical microscope. Due to the bony structure of the surgical site, the recorded cochleostomy scene moves nearly rigidly. The goal of the tracking algorithm is to estimate motion only from the given image stream. After preprocessing, features are detected in two subsequent images and their affine transformation is computed by a random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm. The proposed method can provide movement feedback with up to 93.2 μm precision without the need for any additional hardware in the operating room or attachment of fiducials to the situs. In long term tracking, an accumulative error occurs.

Feature Matching Method Based on SURF and Fast Library for Approximate Nearest Neighbor Search

Aiming at dimensional feature vector matching problem of low accuracy, a kind of image matching algorithm is based on SURF and fast library for approximate nearest neighbor search. Fast-Hessian was used to detect the feature points, and the SURF feature description vector proposed was generated; through fast library for approximate nearest neighbor search algorithm, pre-matching point was got. With the introduction of Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm points false-matching, based on the SIFT algorithm, the result of SURF algorithm and optimization algorithm was proposed and mismatching points were eliminated after the experiment simulation. Experimental results show that at the same time the matching algorithm improve matching accuracy rate, and the algorithm of the real-time performance is also improved.

A novel automatic method on pseudo-invariant features extraction for enhancing the relative radiometric normalization of high-resolution images

ABSTRACT Relative radiometric normalization (RRN) is a critical preprocessing step that is widely applied to remote sensing data. Essential to RRN are the pseudo-invariant features (PIFs) – ground objects with invariant reflectance across the acquisition dates of multiple images. To meet the requirements of RRN for change detection in multi-temporal images, this paper proposed a novel automatic method for PIF extraction: first, we calculated spectral, spatial, and visual features for the images. Next, a set of change vectors were generated to quantify the features’ differences. Then, the initial PIF was obtained by synthesizing similar pixels from each change vector. Finally, an iterative linear regression was performed to generate the final PIFs. Furthermore, we employed the random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm to establish the RRN model for normalizing the target image. The methods and workflow of PIF extraction and the RRN model establishment were validated with two TripleSat-2 multi-spectral images with a spatial resolution of 3.2 metres. The applicability of the proposed PIF extraction method was further validated by Landsat-8 OLI, GF-1 WFV, Sentinel-2 MSI, and WorldView-2 images. The results showed that: (1) The proposed PIF extraction method can automatically obtain the PIFs with high precision. Based on the extracted PIFs, the RANSAC algorithm is capable of building the RRN model with a significant linear relationship. (2) The PIF extraction method is applicable to multi-spectral images with different spatial resolutions. (3) Compared with the multivariate alteration detection (MAD) and the iteratively reweighted MAD (IR-MAD), the proposed PIF extraction method achieved a better performance in selecting the pixels with smaller radiometric differences, which is helpful to reach a higher accuracy of the RRN model. (4) Differences in image brightness, spectral domain, and spatial domain are considered in the PIF extraction method with fewer parameters and high portability. (5) Spectral features are dominant to obtain ideal PIFs, and feature combinations can get the advantages to enhance the effectiveness of the PIFs.

Local features of 3D point cloud registration based on Siamese network learning

ABSTRACT To solve the problem of point cloud registration caused by noisy or incomplete data, a deep learning model based on the 3D Siamese convolution neural network is proposed. The key idea of our algorithm is the acquisition of the training data. To accumulate training data for our model, we project 3D point cloud data onto a 2D plane to obtain cumulative projection images, then we use the SIFT algorithm to match the images and obtain the matching point pairs. On this basis, according to the relationship between the matching point pairs and 3D point cloud, the 3D point blocks are obtained, and finally the Siamese convolution neural network is used to learn the 3D point block pairs and obtain the 3D feature descriptor. The point cloud can be effectively matched by using the feature descriptor and Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm. Experiments show that the descriptor consistently outperforms other state-of-the-art approaches by a significant margin; therefore, this method offers significant improvement in processing speed and registration accuracy.

A Noise Robust Micro-Range Estimation Method for Precession Cone-Shaped Targets

The estimation of micro-Range (m-R) is important for micro-motion feature extraction and imaging, which provides significant supports for the classification of a precession cone-shaped target. Under low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) circumstances, the modified Kalman filter (MKF) will obtain broken segments rather than complete m-R tracks due to missing trajectories, and the performance of the MKF is restricted by unknown noise covariance. To solve these problems, a noise-robust m-R estimation method, which combines the adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) and the random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm, is proposed in this paper. The AKF, where the noise covariance is not required for the estimation of the state vector, is applied to associate m-R trajectories for higher estimation accuracy and lower wrong association probability. Due to missing trajectories, several associated segments which are parts of the m-R tracks can be obtained by the AKF. Then, the RANSAC algorithm is utilized to associate the segments and the complete m-R tracks can be obtained. Compared with the MKF, the proposed method can obtain complete m-R tracks instead of several segments, and avoids the influence of unknown noise covariance under low SNR circumstances. Experimental results based on electromagnetic simulation data demonstrate that the proposed method is more precise and robust compared with traditional methods.

Transmission line image mosaic based on improved SIFT-LATCH

In the transmission line inspection, in order to obtain wide-view and large-scale images, it is necessary to stitch images taken by drones. This article proposes an improved SIFT-LATCH-based UAV aerial transmission line image stitching algorithm. First, the image is processed in parallel through multi-threading. The SIFT algorithm is used to extract the feature points in the image, and the LATCH descriptor is used to describe the feature points. The sampling consensus algorithm is used to purify the feature points, and finally the translational homography matrix is used to solve the problem of black lines in the stitched image. Experiments show that the algorithm proposed in the article has the advantages of good real-time and high accuracy in splicing UAV aerial pictures of transmission lines.

Adaptive Multi-View Image Mosaic Method for Conveyor Belt Surface Fault Online Detection

In order to improve the accuracy and real-time of image mosaic, realize the multi-view conveyor belt surface fault online detection, and solve the problem of longitudinal tear of conveyor belt, we in this paper propose an adaptive multi-view image mosaic (AMIM) method based on the combination of grayscale and feature. Firstly, the overlapping region of two adjacent images is preliminarily estimated by establishing the overlapping region estimation model, and then the grayscale-based method is used to register the overlapping region. Secondly, the image of interest (IOI) detection algorithm is used to divide the IOI and the non-IOI. Thirdly, only for the IOI, the feature-based partition and block registration method is used to register the images more accurately, the overlapping region is adaptively segmented, the speeded up robust features (SURF) algorithm is used to extract the feature points, and the random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is used to achieve accurate registration. Finally, the improved weighted smoothing algorithm is used to fuse the two adjacent images. The experimental results showed that the registration rate reached 97.67%, and the average time of stitching was less than 500 ms. This method is accurate and fast, and is suitable for conveyor belt surface fault online detection.

A Tracking Registration Method for Augmented Reality Based on Multi-modal Template Matching and Point Clouds

In order to overcome the defects where the surface of the object lacks sufficient texture features and the algorithm cannot meet the real-time requirements of augmented reality, a markerless augmented reality tracking registration method based on multi-modal template matching and point clouds is proposed. The method first adapts the linear parallel multi-modal LineMod template matching method with scale invariance to identify the texture-less target and obtain the reference image as the key frame that is most similar to the current perspective. Then, we can obtain the initial pose of the camera and solve the problem of re-initialization because of tracking registration interruption. A point cloud-based method is used to calculate the precise pose of the camera in real time. In order to solve the problem that the traditional iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm cannot meet the real-time requirements of the system, Kd-tree (k-dimensional tree) is used under the graphics processing unit (GPU) to replace the part of finding the nearest points in the original ICP algorithm to improve the speed of tracking registration. At the same time, the random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is used to remove the error point pairs to improve the accuracy of the algorithm. The results show that the proposed tracking registration method has good real-time performance and robustness.

Comparison between Three Registration Methods in the Case of Non-Georeferenced Close Range of Multispectral Images

Cucumber powdery mildew, which is caused by Podosphaera xanthii, is a major disease that has a significant economic impact in cucumber greenhouse production. It is necessary to develop a non-invasive fast detection system for that disease. Such a system will use multispectral imagery acquired at a close range with a camera attached to a mobile cart’s mechanic extension. This study evaluated three image registration methods applied to non-georeferenced multispectral images acquired at close range over greenhouse cucumber plants with a MicaSense® RedEdge camera. The detection of matching points was performed using Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF), and outliers matching points were removed using the M-estimator Sample Consensus (MSAC) algorithm. Three geometric transformations (affine, similarity, and projective) were considered in the registration process. For each transformation, we mapped the matching points of the blue, green, red, and NIR band images into the red-edge band space and computed the root mean square error (RMSE in pixel) to estimate the accuracy of each image registration. Our results achieved an RMSE of less than 1 pixel with the similarity and affine transformations and of less than 2 pixels with the projective transformation, whatever the band image. We determined that the best image registration method corresponded to the affine transformation because the RMSE is less than 1 pixel and the RMSEs have a Gaussian distribution for all of the bands, but the blue band.

A novel high precision mosaic method for sonar video sequence

The mosaic of sonar images is more difficult than the mosaic of traditional optical images due to their poor quality and the difficulty in extracting feature points. The existing mosaic methods of sonar images have a series of problems, such as low correct matching rate, large cumulative errors and high requirements for the quality of collected sonar images. In this paper, we proposed a high precision method to implement the mosaic of the underwater sonar video image sequence. Firstly, Accelerated Unsharp Masking (AUSM) algorithm is proposed to preprocess the original image. Then we extract KAZE feature points from preprocessed sonar images. A matching method combining multiple matching strategies with Progressive Sample Consensus (PROSAC) algorithm is followed to complete the image registration. Weighted fusion method and a region of interest (ROI) acquisition method based on the slope of right border is used to optimize the mosaicked image. Finally, we can obtain a high-quality panoramic image of underwater sonar video by a global mosaic strategy. Mosaic experiments on the sonar video image sequence collected by multi-beam sonar demonstrate that the proposed method in this paper can increase the number of feature points by about 70% and make the correct matching rate higher than 70%. The proposed method also has good robustness and the cumulative error during multi-image mosaic is less.

A Full-Spectrum Registration Method for Zhuhai-1 Satellite Hyperspectral Imagery.

Accurate registration is an essential prerequisite for analysis and applications involving remote sensing imagery. It is usually difficult to extract enough matching points for inter-band registration in hyperspectral imagery due to the different spectral responses for land features in different image bands. This is especially true for non-adjacent bands. The inconsistency in geometric distortion caused by topographic relief also makes it inappropriate to use a single affine transformation relationship for the geometric transformation of the entire image. Currently, accurate registration between spectral bands of Zhuhai-1 satellite hyperspectral imagery remains challenging. In this paper, a full-spectrum registration method was proposed to address this problem. The method combines the transfer strategy based on the affine transformation relationship between adjacent spectrums with the differential correction from dense Delaunay triangulation. Firstly, the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) extraction method was used to extract and match feature points of adjacent bands. The RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm and the least square method is then used to eliminate mismatching point pairs to obtain fine matching point pairs. Secondly, a dense Delaunay triangulation was constructed based on fine matching point pairs. The affine transformation relation for non-adjacent bands was established for each triangle using the affine transformation relation transfer strategy. Finally, the affine transformation relation was used to perform differential correction for each triangle. Three Zhuhai-1 satellite hyperspectral images covering different terrains were used as experiment data. The evaluation results showed that the adjacent band registration accuracy ranged from 0.2 to 0.6 pixels. The structural similarity measure and cosine similarity measure between non-adjacent bands were both greater than 0.80. Moreover, the full-spectrum registration accuracy was less than 1 pixel. These registration results can meet the needs of Zhuhai-1 hyperspectral imagery applications in various fields.

Automatic identification and autonomous sorting of cylindrical parts in cluttered scene based on monocular vision 3D reconstruction

Purpose This paper aims to propose an identification method based on monocular vision for cylindrical parts in cluttered scene, which solves the issue that iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm fails to obtain global optimal solution, as the deviation from scene point cloud to target CAD model is huge in nature. Design/methodology/approach The images of the parts are captured at three locations by a camera amounted on a robotic end effector to reconstruct initial scene point cloud. Color signatures of histogram of orientations (C-SHOT) local feature descriptors are extracted from the model and scene point cloud. Random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is used to perform the first initial matching of point sets. Then, the second initial matching is conducted by proposed remote closest point (RCP) algorithm to make the model get close to the scene point cloud. Levenberg Marquardt (LM)-ICP is used to complete fine registration to obtain accurate pose estimation. Findings The experimental results in bolt-cluttered scene demonstrate that the accuracy of pose estimation obtained by the proposed method is higher than that obtained by two other methods. The position error is less than 0.92 mm and the orientation error is less than 0.86°. The average recognition rate is 96.67 per cent and the identification time of the single bolt does not exceed 3.5 s. Practical implications The presented approach can be applied or integrated into automatic sorting production lines in the factories. Originality/value The proposed method improves the efficiency and accuracy of the identification and classification of cylindrical parts using a robotic arm.

Adaptive random sample consensus approach for segmentation of building roof in airborne laser scanning point cloud

ABSTRACTThis work proposes a three-step method for segmenting the roof planes of buildings in Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data. The first step aims at mainly avoiding the exhaustive search for planar roof faces throughout the ALS point cloud. Standard algorithms for processing ALS point cloud are used to isolate building regions. The second step of the proposed method consists in segmenting roof planes within building regions previously delimited. We use the RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm to detect roof plane points, taking into account two adaptive parameters for checking the consistency of ALS building points with the candidate planes: the distance between ALS building points and candidate planes; and the angle between the gradient vectors at ALS building points and the candidate planes’ normal vector. Each ALS building point is classified as consistent if computed parameters are below corresponding thresholds, which are automatically determined by thresholding histograms constructed for both parameters. As the RANSAC algorithm can generate fragmented results, in the third step, a post-processing is accomplished to merge planes that are approximately collinear and spatially close. The results show that the proposed method works properly. However, failures occur mainly in regions affected by local anomalies such as trees and antennas. Average rates around 90% and higher than 95% have been obtained for the completeness and correction quality parameters, respectively.

Delineating minor landslide displacements using GPS and terrestrial laser scanning-derived terrain surfaces and trees: a case study of the Slumgullion landslide, Lake City, Colorado

Multi-temporal high-density terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) datasets are processed to delineating possible movements from terrain surfaces and trees. Terrain surface movements are estimated with the help of segmentation and random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm. Tree movements are interpreted by iterative closest point (ICP) solved translations and rotations of tree point clouds. The capabilities of the proposed methodology were tested using a case study of the Slumgullion landslide, where the trees without clear trunks cover the terrain surfaces. The displacements from the terrain surfaces and trees are similar with the results observed using our global positioning system (GPS) and historic results.

Fast Image Registration for Spacecraft Autonomous Navigation Using Natural Landmarks

In order to satisfy the real-time requirement of spacecraft autonomous navigation using natural landmarks, a novel algorithm called CSA-SURF (chessboard segmentation algorithm and speeded up robust features) is proposed to improve the speed without loss of repeatability performance of image registration progress. It is a combination of chessboard segmentation algorithm and SURF. Here, SURF is used to extract the features from satellite images because of its scale- and rotation-invariant properties and low computational cost. CSA is based on image segmentation technology, aiming to find representative blocks, which will be allocated to different tasks to speed up the image registration progress. To illustrate the advantages of the proposed algorithm, PCA-SURF, which is the combination of principle component analysis and SURF, is also analyzed in this paper for comparison. Furthermore, random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is applied to eliminate the false matches for further accuracy improvement. The simulation results show that the proposed strategy obtains good results, especially in scaling and rotation variation. Besides, CSA-SURF decreased 50% of the time in extraction and 90% of the time in matching without losing the repeatability performance by comparing with SURF algorithm. The proposed method has been demonstrated as an alternative way for image registration of spacecraft autonomous navigation using natural landmarks.

Research on the ROI registration algorithm of the cardiac CT image time series

Abstract Objective Based on the Scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) features, a novel registration algorithm is proposed to solve the problems including the large amount of data emerged from the cardiac image registration process, time-consuming issue and the lower registration accuracy. Method First of all, the region of interest (ROI) of the image to be registered is extracted; then, the feature points of the image are extracted by using the SIFT algorithm; finally, a novel registration algorithm which combines the adopted K-d tree Nearest Neighbor (KNN) Best-Bin-First (BBF) algorithm with the random sampling consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is employed to achieve the registration algorithm and to enhance the registration accuracy, so as to solve the high dimensionality of feature vector and easier mismatching issues. Result The experimental results are as follows: first of all, the amount of data processed during the registration is reduced by 60%–80% after extracting the ROI without destroying the original image data. Secondly, the registration time is reduced by 50%–70%, compared with the traditional registration algorithm. Thirdly, the whole registration precision increases by 10%–20% by using the BBF algorithm to match the feature points and using the RANSAC algorithm to filter the mismatching. Conclusion The proposed algorithm equipped with the robustness and stability can greatly reduce the time required for registration, improve the registration accuracy.

RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm for material-informatics: application to photovoltaic solar cells

An important aspect of chemoinformatics and material-informatics is the usage of machine learning algorithms to build Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR) models. The RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is a predictive modeling tool widely used in the image processing field for cleaning datasets from noise. RANSAC could be used as a “one stop shop” algorithm for developing and validating QSAR models, performing outlier removal, descriptors selection, model development and predictions for test set samples using applicability domain. For “future” predictions (i.e., for samples not included in the original test set) RANSAC provides a statistical estimate for the probability of obtaining reliable predictions, i.e., predictions within a pre-defined number of standard deviations from the true values. In this work we describe the first application of RNASAC in material informatics, focusing on the analysis of solar cells. We demonstrate that for three datasets representing different metal oxide (MO) based solar cell libraries RANSAC-derived models select descriptors previously shown to correlate with key photovoltaic properties and lead to good predictive statistics for these properties. These models were subsequently used to predict the properties of virtual solar cells libraries highlighting interesting dependencies of PV properties on MO compositions.

A Systematic Approach for Online Minimizing Volume Difference of Multiple Chambers in Machining Processes Based on High-Definition Metrology

The volume variation of multiple chambers of a workpiece is one of the most important factors that can directly influence the performance of the final product. This paper presents a novel systematic approach for online minimizing the volume difference of multiple chambers of a workpiece based on high-definition metrology (HDM). First, the datum of high-density points is transformed by a random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm due to its good robustness in fitting. Second, a procedure containing reconstruction of interior curved surfaces of chambers, boundary extraction, and projection is developed to calculate the accurate volumes of the multiple chambers. Third, a model for obtaining an optimized machining parameter for depth of chambers is explored to minimize the volume difference of any two ones of all the chambers. The model is formulated as a multi-objective optimization (MOO) problem, and a new procedure of multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm is developed to solve this problem. Finally, a milling depth is output as the optimal milling parameter for controlling the volume variation of multiple chambers. The results of a case study show that the proposed approach can minimize the volume difference of four combustion chambers of a cylinder head and it can be well applied online in volume variation control of multiple chambers in machining processes.