HDROmni: Optical Extension of Dynamic Range for Panoramic Robot Vision

Abstract

This paper presents the design method to optically extend the perceptible dynamic range of panoramic vision for robotics. The large range of scene radiance is captured in realtime by a combination of paraboloidal mirrors, a telecentric lens and neutral density filters.The first prototype made of 4 mirrors and 3 neutral density filters increases 100 times the perceptible dynamic range of the used camera. Results in various challenging scenes compare the new camera to low dynamic range ones. They show that the dynamic range quality of images doubles, on average. They also show significant benefit for feature-based approaches, i.e. much more matched features, and direct ones, i.e. much higher positioning accuracy of direct visual servoing.

Dual-Hemispherical Photometric Visual Servoing

“…Among these unusual imaging devices, wide-angle acquisition systems are very interesting for robot perception since capturing a large view of the surroundings allows obtaining a comprehensive awareness of the environment in a few or even a single acquisition. This is useful for numerous robotic applications where a wide field of view (FoV) increases the chances to see reliable visual information and are thus studied for various tasks such as object detection [1], obstacle avoidance [2], navigation [3], localization and mapping [4] or visual servoing (VS) [5]. The latter is a technique used to control the motion of a dynamic system, such as a robot, using visual information as feedback [6].…”

Assistive Robotic Technologies for Next-Generation Smart Wheelchairs: Codesign and Modularity to Improve Users’ Quality of Life

“…Real-time high-dynamic-range (HDR) vision will finally make it possible to design assistive devices that work in scenes with challenging illumination conditions. UPJV's group has recently developed a new panoramic system (consisting of an orthographic camera combined with four convex mirrors and three neutral density filters), HDROmni [30], which optically extends the dynamic range of the images. Preliminary tests on a mobile robot are promising, and there are plans to apply the same optical design to SpheriCol to make it more robust to abrupt illumination changes.…”