Automatic Model Refinement for 3D Reconstruction with Mobile Robots

Andreas Nüchter,  Hartmut Surmann,  and  Joachim Hertzberg
Fraunhofer Institute for Autonomous Intelligent Systems (AIS)
Schloss Birlinghoven, D-53754 Sankt Augustin, Germany
tex2html_wrap_inline${$andreas.nuechter|hartmut.surmann|joachim.hertzbergtex2html_wrap_inline$}$@ais.fraunhofer.de

Abstract:

Precise digital 3D models of indoor environments are needed in several applications, e.g., facility management, architecture, rescue and inspection robotics. This paper presents a new algorithm that transforms a 3D volumetric model into a very precise compact 3D map and generates semantic descriptions. Our system is composed of a robust, autonomous mobile robot for the automatic data acquisition and a precise, cost effective, high quality 3D laser scanner to gage indoor environments. The reconstruction method consists of reliable scan matching and feature detection algorithms. The 3D scene is matched against a coarse semantic description of general indoor environments and the generated knowledge is used to refine the 3D model.