CAPT: Category-level Articulation Estimation from a Single Point Cloud Using Transformer

The ability to estimate joint parameters is essential for various applications in robotics and computer vision. In this paper, we propose CAPT: category-level articulation estimation from a point cloud using Transformer. CAPT uses an end-to-end transformer-based architecture for joint parameter and state estimation of articulated objects from a single point cloud. The proposed CAPT methods accurately estimate joint parameters and states for various articulated objects with high precision and robustness. The paper also introduces a motion loss approach, which improves articulation estimation performance by emphasizing the dynamic features of articulated objects. Additionally, the paper presents a double voting strategy to provide the framework with coarse-to-fine parameter estimation. Experimental results on several category datasets demonstrate that our methods outperform existing alternatives for articulation estimation. Our research provides a promising solution for applying Transformer-based architectures in articulated object analysis.

INF: Implicit Neural Fusion for LiDAR and Camera

Sensor fusion has become a popular topic in robotics. However, conventional fusion methods encounter many difficulties, such as data representation differences, sensor variations, and extrinsic calibration. For example, the calibration methods used for LiDAR-camera fusion often require manual operation and auxiliary calibration targets. Implicit neural representations (INRs) have been developed for 3D scenes, and the volume density distribution involved in an INR unifies the scene information obtained by different types of sensors. Therefore, we propose implicit neural fusion (INF) for LiDAR and camera. INF first trains a neural density field of the target scene using LiDAR frames. Then, a separate neural color field is trained using camera images and the trained neural density field. Along with the training process, INF both estimates LiDAR poses and optimizes extrinsic parameters. Our experiments demonstrate the high accuracy and stable performance of the proposed method.

Non-learning Stereo-aided Depth Completion under Mis-projection via Selective Stereo Matching

We propose a non-learning depth completion method for a sparse depth map captured using a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor guided by a pair of stereo images. Generally, conventional stereo-aided depth completion methods have two limiations. (i) They assume the given sparse depth map is accurately aligned to the input image, whereas the alignment is difficult to achieve in practice. (ii) They have limited accuracy in the long range because the depth is estimated by pixel disparity. To solve the abovementioned limitations, we propose selective stereo matching (SSM) that searches the most appropriate depth value for each image pixel from its neighborly projected LiDAR points based on an energy minimization framework. This depth selection approach can handle any type of mis-projection. Moreover, SSM has an advantage in terms of long-range depth accuracy because it directly uses the LiDAR measurement rather than the depth acquired from the stereo. SSM is a discrete process; thus, we apply variational smoothing with binary anisotropic diffusion tensor (B-ADT) to generate a continuous depth map while preserving depth discontinuity across object boundaries. Experimentally, compared with the previous state-of-the-art stereo-aided depth completion, the proposed method reduced the mean absolute error (MAE) of the depth estimation to 0.65 times and demonstrated approximately twice more accurate estimation in the long range. Moreover, under various LiDAR-camera calibration errors, the proposed method reduced the depth estimation MAE to 0.34-0.93 times from previous depth completion methods.

Learning 6DoF Grasping Using Reward-Consistent Demonstration

As the number of the robot's degrees of freedom increases, the implementation of robot motion becomes more complex and difficult. In this study, we focus on learning 6DOF-grasping motion and consider dividing the grasping motion into multiple tasks. We propose to combine imitation and reinforcement learning in order to facilitate a more efficient learning of the desired motion. In order to collect demonstration data as teacher data for the imitation learning, we created a virtual reality (VR) interface that allows humans to operate the robot intuitively. Moreover, by dividing the motion into simpler tasks, we simplify the design of reward functions for reinforcement learning and show in our experiments a reduction in the steps required to learn the grasping motion.

Relative Drone-Ground Vehicle Localization using LiDAR and Fisheye Cameras through Direct and Indirect Observations

Estimating the pose of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone is a challenging task. It is useful for many applications such as navigation, surveillance, tracking objects on the ground, and 3D reconstruction. In this work, we present a LiDAR-camera-based relative pose estimation method between a drone and a ground vehicle, using a LiDAR sensor and a fisheye camera on the vehicle's roof and another fisheye camera mounted under the drone. The LiDAR sensor directly observes the drone and measures its position, and the two cameras estimate the relative orientation using indirect observation of the surrounding objects. We propose a dynamically adaptive kernel-based method for drone detection and tracking using the LiDAR. We detect vanishing points in both cameras and find their correspondences to estimate the relative orientation. Additionally, we propose a rotation correction technique by relying on the observed motion of the drone through the LiDAR. In our experiments, we were able to achieve very fast initial detection and real-time tracking of the drone. Our method is fully automatic.

Discontinuous and Smooth Depth Completion with Binary Anisotropic Diffusion Tensor

We propose an unsupervised real-time dense depth completion from a sparse depth map guided by a single image. Our method generates a smooth depth map while preserving discontinuity between different objects. Our key idea is a Binary Anisotropic Diffusion Tensor (B-ADT) which can completely eliminate smoothness constraint at intended positions and directions by applying it to variational regularization. We also propose an Image-guided Nearest Neighbor Search (IGNNS) to derive a piecewise constant depth map which is used for B-ADT derivation and in the data term of the variational energy. Our experiments show that our method can outperform previous unsupervised and semi-supervised depth completion methods in terms of accuracy. Moreover, since our resulting depth map preserves the discontinuity between objects, the result can be converted to a visually plausible point cloud. This is remarkable since previous methods generate unnatural surface-like artifacts between discontinuous objects.

A Hand Motion-guided Articulation and Segmentation Estimation

In this paper, we present a method for simultaneous articulation model estimation and segmentation of an articulated object in RGB-D images using human hand motion. Our method uses the hand motion in the processes of the initial articulation model estimation, ICP-based model parameter optimization, and region selection of the target object. The hand motion gives an initial guess of the articulation model: prismatic or revolute joint. The method estimates the joint parameters by aligning the RGB-D images with the constraint of the hand motion. Finally, the target regions are selected from the cluster regions which move symmetrically along with the articulation model. Our experimental results show the robustness of the proposed method for the various objects.

LiDAR and Camera Calibration using Motion Estimated by Sensor Fusion Odometry

In this paper, we propose a method of targetless and automatic Camera-LiDAR calibration. Our approach is an extension of hand-eye calibration framework to 2D-3D calibration. By using the sensor fusion odometry method, the scaled camera motions are calculated with high accuracy. In addition to this, we clarify the suitable motion for this calibration method. The proposed method only requires the three-dimensional point cloud and the camera image and does not need other information such as reflectance of LiDAR and to give initial extrinsic parameter. In the experiments, we demonstrate our method using several sensor configurations in indoor and outdoor scenes to verify the effectiveness. The accuracy of our method achieves more than other comparable state-of-the-art methods.

Offline and Online calibration of Mobile Robot and SLAM Device for Navigation

Robot navigation technology is required to accomplish difficult tasks in various environments. In navigation, it is necessary to know the information of the external environments and the state of the robot under the environment. On the other hand, various studies have been done on SLAM technology, which is also used for navigation, but also applied to devices for Mixed Reality and the like. In this paper, we propose a robot-device calibration method for navigation with a device using SLAM technology on a robot. The calibration is performed by using the position and orientation information given by the robot and the device. In the calibration, the most efficient way of movement is clarified according to the restriction of the robot movement. Furthermore, we also show a method to dynamically correct the position and orientation of the robot so that the information of the external environment and the shape information of the robot maintain consistency in order to reduce the dynamic error occurring during navigation. Our method can be easily used for various kinds of robots and localization with sufficient precision for navigation is possible with offline calibration and online position correction. In the experiments, we confirm the parameters obtained by two types of offline calibration according to the degree of freedom of robot movement and validate the effectiveness of online correction method by plotting localized position error during robot's intense movement. Finally, we show the demonstration of navigation using SLAM device.