3D Free-Form Object Recognition Using Indexing by Contour Features

We address the problem of recognizing free-form 3D objects from a single 2D intensity image. A model-based solution within the alignment paradigm is presented which involves three major schemes—modeling, matching, and indexing. The modeling scheme constructs a set of model aspects which can predict the object contour as seen from any viewpoint. The matching scheme aligns the edgemap of a candidate model to the observed edgemap using an initial approximate pose. The major contribution of this paper involves the indexing scheme and its integration with modeling and matching to perform recognition. Indexing generates hypotheses specifying both candidate model aspects and approximate pose and scale. Hypotheses are ordered by likelihood based on prior knowledge of pre-stored models and the visual evidence from the observed objects. A prototype implementation has been tested in recognition and localization experiments with a database containing 658 model aspects from twenty 3D objects and eighty 2D objects. Bench tests and simulations show that many kinds of objects can be handled accurately and efficiently even in cluttered scenes. We conclude that the proposed recognition-by-alignment paradigm is a viable approach to many 3D object recognition problems.     

On the Recognition and Location of Partially Occluded Objects

The recognition and location of partially occluded objects is important for image-guided robot automation. A computational object recognition system consists of three main parts: shape representation, matching strategies and verification. The shape representation scheme, which is always application-oriented, should keep extracted features as invariant as possible. This paper presents a new model-based object recognition scheme for general two dimensional objects in a cluttered scene. The scheme considers objects subjected to similarity transformations (i.e., a combination of rotation, scaling and translation). It employs a new feature detection algorithm, combining curvature measures and polygonal approximation. An approximate, but efficient matching strategy is proposed for hypothesis generation and synthetic verification procedures are introduced to improve the robustness of the system. Experiment results are presented to show that the system works effectively and efficiently.     

A volumetric/iconic frequency domain representation for objectswith application for pose invariant face recognition

A novel method for representing 3D objects that unifies viewer and model centered object representations is presented. A unified 3D frequency-domain representation, called volumetric frequency representation (VFR), encapsulates both the spatial structure of the object and a continuum of its views in the same data structure. The frequency-domain image of an object viewed from any direction can be directly extracted employing an extension of the projection slice theorem, where each Fourier-transformed view is a planar slice of the volumetric frequency representation. The VFR is employed for pose-invariant recognition of complex objects, such as faces. The recognition and pose estimation is based on an efficient matching algorithm in a four-dimensional Fourier space. Experimental examples of pose estimation and recognition of faces in various poses are also presented     

Vision-based global localization for mobile robots with hybrid maps of objects and spatial layouts

This paper presents a novel vision-based global localization that uses hybrid maps of objects and spatial layouts. We model indoor environments with a stereo camera using the following visual cues: local invariant features for object recognition and their 3D positions for object pose estimation. We also use the depth information at the horizontal centerline of image where the optical axis passes through, which is similar to the data from a 2D laser range finder. This allows us to build our topological node that is composed of a horizontal depth map and an object location map. The horizontal depth map describes the explicit spatial layout of each local space and provides metric information to compute the spatial relationships between adjacent spaces, while the object location map contains the pose information of objects found in each local space and the visual features for object recognition. Based on this map representation, we suggest a coarse-to-fine strategy for global localization. The coarse pose is estimated by means of object recognition and SVD-based point cloud fitting, and then is refined by stochastic scan matching. Experimental results show that our approaches can be used for an effective vision-based map representation as well as for global localization methods.     

Isolated 3D object recognition through next view planning

In many cases, a single view of an object may not contain sufficient features to recognize it unambiguously. This paper presents a new online recognition scheme based on next view planning for the identification of an isolated 3D object using simple features. The scheme uses a probabilistic reasoning framework for recognition and planning. Our knowledge representation scheme encodes feature based information about objects as well as the uncertainty in the recognition process. This is used both in the probability calculations as well as in planning the next view. Results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategy for a reasonably complex experimental set     

Surface signatures: an orientation independent free-form surface representation scheme for the purpose of objects registration and matching

This paper introduces anew free-form surface representation scheme for the purpose of fast and accurate registration and matching. Accurate registration of surfaces is a common task in computer vision. The proposed representation scheme captures the surface curvature information (seen from certain points) and produces images, called "surface signatures," at these points. Matching signatures of different surfaces enables the recovery of the transformation parameters between these surfaces. We propose using template matching to compare the signature images. To enable partial matching, another criterion, the overlap ratio is used. This representation scheme can be used as a global representation of the surface as well as a local one and performs near real-time registration. We show that the signature representation can be used to recover scaling transformation as well as matching objects in 3D scenes in the presence of clutter and occlusion. Applications presented include: free-form object matching, multimodal medical volumes registration, and dental teeth reconstruction from intraoral images.     

三维物体识别研究进展

出于工业和医疗等领域大量现实应用的需要,如今三维物体识别已成为一个很活跃的研究领域。一般来说,三维物体识别系统可以通过两个阶段的处理来完成三维物体的识别和定位,首先用传感器获取的场景输入数据来得到场景的表达;然后将它与数据库中存储的物体表达相匹配。为了推动该领域研究进一步发展,因而对近１０ａ年中该识别过程中必须解决的感传器类型、三维物体表达方法和匹配策略等３个方面问题的研究成果进行了综述,对主要方法进行分类和总结;并提出了一些三维视觉系统中还需要深入研究的问题,包括对所研究物体形状的限制、复杂背景的影响和表达以及识别中的“整体和局部”的矛盾等。     

Scalable representation for 3D object recognition using feature sharing and view clustering

Scalability is an important issue in object recognition as it reduces database storage and recognition time. In this paper, we propose a new scalable 3D object representation and a learning method to recognize many everyday objects. The key proposal for scalable object representation is to combine the concept of feature sharing with multi-view clustering in part-based object representation, in particular a common-frame constellation model (CFCM). In this representation scheme, we also propose a fully automatic learning method: appearance-based automatic feature clustering and sequential construction of clustered CFCMs from labeled multi-views and multiple objects. We evaluated the scalability of the proposed method to COIL-100 DB and applied the learning scheme to 112 objects with 620 training views. Experimental results show the scalable learning results in almost constant recognition performance relative to the number of objects.     

A CAD Model Based System for Object Recognition

3D object recognition is a difficult and yet an important problem in computer vision. A 3D object recognition system has two major components, namely: an object modeller and a system that performs the matching of stored representations to those derived from the sensed image. The performance of systems wherein the construction of object models is done by training from one or more images of the objects, has not been very satisfactory. Although objects used in a robotic workcell or in assembly processes have been designed using a CAD system, the vision systems used for recognition of these objects are independent of the CAD database. This paper proposes a scheme for interfacing the CAD database of objects and the computer vision processes used for recognising these objects. CAD models of objects are processed to generate vision oriented features that appear in the different views of the object and the same features are extracted from images of the object to identify the object and its pose.     

Active Object Recognition Integrating Attention and Viewpoint Control

We present an active object recognition strategy which combines the use of an attention mechanism for focusing the search for a 3D object in a 2D image, with a viewpoint control strategy for disambiguating recovered object features. The attention mechanism consists of a probabilistic search through a hierarchy of predicted feature observations, taking objects into a set of regions classified according to the shapes of their bounding contours. We motivate the use of image regions as a focus-feature and compare their uncertainty in inferring objects with the uncertainty of more commonly used features such as lines or corners. If the features recovered during the attention phase do not provide a unique mapping to the 3D object being searched, the probabilistic feature hierarchy can be used to guide the camera to a new viewpoint from where the object can be disambiguated. The power of the underlying representation is its ability to unify these object recognition behaviors within a single framework. We present the approach in detail and evaluate its performance in the context of a project providing robotic aids for the disabled.     

CAD-based Pose Estimation Design for Random Bin Picking using a RGB-D Camera

This paper presents a CAD-based six-degrees-of-freedom (6-DoF) pose estimation design for random bin picking for multiple objects. A virtual camera generates a point cloud database for the objects using their 3D CAD models. To reduce the computational time of 3D pose estimation, a voxel grid filter reduces the number of points for the 3D cloud of the objects. A voting scheme is used for object recognition and to estimate the 6-DoF pose for different objects. An outlier filter filters out badly matching poses so that the robot arm always picks up the upper object in the bin, which increases the success rate. In a computer simulation using a synthetic scene, the average recognition rate is 97.81 % for three different objects with various poses. A series of experiments have been conducted to validate the proposed method using a Kuka robot arm. The average recognition rate for three objects is 92.39 % and the picking success rate is 89.67 %.     

A neural network approach to CSG-based 3-D object recognition

Describes the recognition subsystem of a computer vision system based on constructive solid geometry (CSG) representation scheme. Instead of using the conventional CSG trees to represent objects, the proposed system uses an equivalent representation scheme-precedence graphs-for object representation. Each node in the graph represents a primitive volume and each are between two nodes represents the relation between them. Object recognition is achieved by matching the scene precedence graph to the model precedence graph. A constraint satisfaction network is proposed to implement the matching process. The energy function associated with the network is used to enforce the matching constraints including match validity, primitive similarity, precedence graph preservation, and geometric structure preservation. The energy level is at its minimum only when the optimal match is reached. Experimental results on several range images are presented to demonstrate the proposed approach     

Efficient data structures for model-based 3-D object recognitionand localization from range images

An effective method of surface characterization of 3D objects using surface curvature properties and an efficient approach to recognizing and localizing multiple 3D free-form objects (free-form object recognition and localization) are presented. The approach is surface based and is therefore not sensitive to noise and occlusion, forms hypothesis by local analysis of surface shapes, does not depend on the visibility of complete objects, and uses information from a CAD database in recognition and localization. A knowledge representation scheme for describing free-form surfaces is described. The data structure and procedures are well designed, so that the knowledge leads the system to intelligent behavior. Knowledge about surface shapes is abstracted from CAD models to direct the search in verification of vision hypotheses. The knowledge representation used eases processes of knowledge acquisition, information retrieval, modification of knowledge base, and reasoning for solution     

用于遥感图像人造目标识别的三维建模方法研究

该文研究了用于遥感图像人造地物目标识别的三维建模方法,文中分析了识别任务的特点,比较了一般的建模方法,介绍了一种基于广义锥思想的几何表示方法,并利用面向对象的技术来表示模型内部数据及其操作。     

一种提取物体线形骨架的新方法

提出了一种提取物体线形骨架的新方法. 该方法首先计算物体距离变换的梯度, 从而得到一个矢量场. 距离变换的梯度对提取物体线形骨架具有重要意义, 可据此获得物体内部的关键点, 其中每一个关键点代表了物体的一个凸部分. 之后, 用搜索梯度最短路径的方法连接关键点, 得到物体的线形骨架. 本文方法得到的线形骨架能很好地反映物体拓扑和形状特征, 并不易受边界噪声干扰. 此外, 本文方法克服了基于距离变换的骨架提取算法的固有缺点, 获得了具有良好连通性的骨架. 因此, 基于本文方法得到的骨架能用于物体识别和匹配等领域. 对大量二维、三维物体的实验取得了令人满意的效果.     

Genetic object recognition using combinations of views

Investigates the application of genetic algorithms (GAs) for recognizing real 2D or 3D objects from 2D intensity images, assuming that the viewpoint is arbitrary. Our approach is model-based (i.e. we assume a pre-defined set of models), while our recognition strategy relies on the theory of algebraic functions of views. According to this theory, the variety of 2D views depicting an object can be expressed as a combination of a small number of 2D views of the object. This implies a simple and powerful strategy for object recognition: novel 2D views of an object (2D or 3D) can be recognized by simply matching them to combinations of known 2D views of the object. In other words, objects in a scene are recognized by "predicting" their appearance through the combination of known views of the objects. This is an important idea, which is also supported by psychophysical findings indicating that the human visual system works in a similar way. The main difficulty in implementing this idea is determining the parameters of the combination of views. This problem can be solved either in the space of feature matches among the views ("image space") or the space of parameters ("transformation space"). In general, both of these spaces are very large, making the search very time-consuming. In this paper, we propose using GAs to search these spaces efficiently. To improve the efficiency of genetic searching in the transformation space, we use singular value decomposition and interval arithmetic to restrict the genetic search to the most feasible regions of the transformation space. The effectiveness of the GA approaches is shown on a set of increasingly complex real scenes where exact and near-exact matches are found reliably and quickly     

Shapeme histogram projection and matching for partial object recognition

Histograms of shape signature or prototypical shapes, called shapemes, have been used effectively in previous work for 2D/3D shape matching and recognition. We extend the idea of shapeme histogram to recognize partially observed query objects from a database of complete model objects. We propose representing each model object as a collection of shapeme histograms and match the query histogram to this representation in two steps: 1) compute a constrained projection of the query histogram onto the subspace spanned by all the shapeme histograms of the model and 2) compute a match measure between the query histogram and the projection. The first step is formulated as a constrained optimization problem that is solved by a sampling algorithm. The second step is formulated under a Bayesian framework, where an implicit feature selection process is conducted to improve the discrimination capability of shapeme histograms. Results of matching partially viewed range objects with a 243 model database demonstrate better performance than the original shapeme histogram matching algorithm and other approaches.