Visual Computing

Automated Wall-Climbing Robot for Concrete Construction Inspection

Abstract: Human-made concrete structures require cutting-edge inspection tools to ensure the quality of the construction to meet the applicable building codes and to maintain the sustainability of the aging infrastructure. This paper introduces a wall-climbing robot for metric concrete inspection that can reach difficult-to-access locations with a close-up view for visual data collection and real-time flaws detection and localization.

Advancing Self-Supervised Monocular Depth Learning with Sparse LiDAR

Abstract: Self-supervised monocular depth prediction provides a cost-effective solution to obtain the 3D location of each pixel. However, the existing approaches usually lead to unsatisfactory accuracy, which is critical for autonomous robots.

Multimodal Semi-Supervised Learning for 3D Objects

Abstract: In recent years, semi-supervised learning has been widely explored and shows excellent data efficiency for 2D data. There is an emerging need to improve data efficiency for 3D tasks due to the scarcity of labeled 3D data.

PSE-Match: A Viewpoint-Free Place Recognition Method With Parallel Semantic Embedding

Abstract: Accurate localization on the autonomous driving cars is essential for autonomy and driving safety, especially for complex urban streets and search-and-rescue subterranean environments where high-accurate GPS is not available. However current odometry estimation may introduce the drifting problems in long-term navigation without robust global localization.

Multi-Scale Fusion With Matching Attention Model: A Novel Decoding Network Cooperated With NAS for Real-Time Semantic Segmentation

Abstract: This paper proposes a real-time multi-scale semantic segmentation network (MsNet). MsNet is a combination of our novel multi-scale fusion with matching attention model (MFMA) as the decoding network and the network searched by asymptotic neural architecture search (ANAS) or MobileNetV3 as the encoding network.

3D Mapping and Stability Prediction for Autonomous Wheelchairs

Abstract: Autonomous wheelchairs can address a very large need in many populations by serving as the gateway to a much higher degree of independence and mobility capability. This is due to the fact that the big picture idea for autonomous wheelchairs integration into the transportation chain is to allow for individuals to be able to utilize the Intelligent wheelchair to reach the vehicle (regardless of terrain), mount into autonomous wheelchair that navigates to desired destination, and finally autonomous wheelchair dismounts.

Semantic Digital Surface Map Towards Collaborative Off-Road Vehicle Autonomy

Abstract: The fundamental aspect of unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) navigation, especially over off-road environments, are representations of terrain describing geometry, types, and traversability. One of the typical representations of the environment is digital surface models (DSMs) which efficiently encode geometric information.

Concrete Defects Inspection and 3D Mapping Using CityFlyer Quadrotor Robot

Abstract: The concrete aging problem has gained more attention in recent years as more bridges and tunnels in the United States lack proper maintenance. Though the Federal Highway Administration requires these public concrete structures to be inspected regularly, on-site manual inspection by human operators is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Predicting Wheelchair Stability While Crossing a Curb Using RGB-Depth Vision

Abstract: Handicapped individuals often rely heavily on various assistive technologies including wheelchairs and the purpose of these technologies is to enable greater levels of independence for the user. In the development of autonomous wheelchairs, it is imperative that the wheelchair maintains appropriate stability for the user in an outdoor urban environment.

Driver Drowsiness Behavior Detection and Analysis Using Vision-Based Multimodal Features for Driving Safety

Abstract: Driving inattention caused by drowsiness has been a significant reason for vehicle crash accidents, and there is a critical need to augment driving safety by monitoring driver drowsiness behaviors. For real-time drowsy driving awareness, we propose a vision-based driver drowsiness monitoring system (DDMS) for driver drowsiness behavior recognition and analysis.