Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
Achieving precise 6 degrees of freedom (6D) pose estimation of rigid objects from color images is a critical challenge with wide-ranging applications in robotics and close-contact aircraft operations. This study investigates key techniques in the application of YOLOv5 object detection convolutional neural network (CNN) for 6D pose localization of aircraft using only color imagery. Traditional object detection labeling methods suffer from inaccuracies due to perspective geometry and being limited to visible key points. This research demonstrates that with precise labeling, a CNN can predict object features with near-pixel accuracy, effectively learning the distinct appearance of the object due to perspective distortion with a pinhole camera. Additionally, we highlight the crucial role of knowledge about occluded features. Training the CNN with such knowledge slightly reduces pixel precision, but enables the prediction of 3 times more features, including those that are not initially visible, resulting in an overall better performing 6D system. Notably, we reveal that the data augmentation technique of scale can interfere with pixel precision when used during training. These findings are crucial for the entire system, which leverages the Solve Perspective-N-Point (Solve-PnP) algorithm, achieving 6D pose accuracy within 1° and 7 cm at distances ranging from 7.5 to 35 m from the camera. Moreover, this solution operates in real-time, achieving sub-10ms processing times on a desktop PC.
Source Publication
Neural Computing and Applications
Recommended Citation
Choate, J., Worth, D., Nykl, S., Taylor, C., Borghetti, B., & Schubert Kabban, C. (2024). An analysis of precision: occlusion and perspective geometry’s role in 6D pose estimation. Neural Computing and Applications, 36, 1261–1281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00521-023-09094-8
Comments
©2024 The Authors
This article is published by Springer, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
The version of record for this article was published on was October 31, 2023 ahead of inclusion in volume 36.