Algorithms for Recognition of Objects in Color Stereo Images

Algorithms have been developed to enable a robotic vision system to recognize, in real time (at a rate between 0.5 and 2 frames per second), known objects lying on the ground. In the original intended application, the algorithms would be executed by off-the-shelf computer hardware aboard a robotic vehicle that would traverse military ordnance-testing ranges to search for unexploded bombs. A stereoscopic pair of color video cameras aboard the vehicle would acquire images of the terrain near the vehicle, and the algorithms would process the digitized images to recognize the bombs by their known size, shape, and color. The algorithms may also be adaptable to other, similar robotic-vision applications — for example, automated recognition of color traffic signs for alerting drivers in automobiles.