16,614 research outputs found
Cluster-Wise Ratio Tests for Fast Camera Localization
Feature point matching for camera localization suffers from scalability
problems. Even when feature descriptors associated with 3D scene points are
locally unique, as coverage grows, similar or repeated features become
increasingly common. As a result, the standard distance ratio-test used to
identify reliable image feature points is overly restrictive and rejects many
good candidate matches. We propose a simple coarse-to-fine strategy that uses
conservative approximations to robust local ratio-tests that can be computed
efficiently using global approximate k-nearest neighbor search. We treat these
forward matches as votes in camera pose space and use them to prioritize
back-matching within candidate camera pose clusters, exploiting feature
co-visibility captured by clustering the 3D model camera pose graph. This
approach achieves state-of-the-art camera localization results on a variety of
popular benchmarks, outperforming several methods that use more complicated
data structures and that make more restrictive assumptions on camera pose. We
also carry out diagnostic analyses on a difficult test dataset containing
globally repetitive structure that suggest our approach successfully adapts to
the challenges of large-scale image localization
Multi-target detection and recognition by UAVs using online POMDPs
This paper tackles high-level decision-making techniques for robotic missions, which involve both active sensing and symbolic goal reaching, under uncertain probabilistic environments and strong time constraints. Our case study is a POMDP model of an online multi-target detection and recognition mission by an autonomous UAV.The POMDP model of the multi-target detection and recognition problem is generated online from a list of areas of interest, which are automatically extracted at the beginning of the flight from a coarse-grained high altitude observation of the scene. The POMDP observation model relies on a statistical abstraction of an image processing algorithm's output used to detect targets. As the POMDP problem cannot be known and thus optimized before the beginning of the flight, our main contribution is an ``optimize-while-execute'' algorithmic framework: it drives a POMDP sub-planner to optimize and execute the POMDP policy in parallel under action duration constraints. We present new results from real outdoor flights and SAIL simulations, which highlight both the benefits of using POMDPs in multi-target detection and recognition missions, and of our`optimize-while-execute'' paradigm
Analysis Of The Anytime MAPF Solvers Based On The Combination Of Conflict-Based Search (CBS) and Focal Search (FS)
Conflict-Based Search (CBS) is a widely used algorithm for solving
multi-agent pathfinding (MAPF) problems optimally. The core idea of CBS is to
run hierarchical search, when, on the high level the tree of solutions
candidates is explored, and on the low-level an individual planning for a
specific agent (subject to certain constraints) is carried out. To trade-off
optimality for running time different variants of bounded sub-optimal CBS were
designed, which alter both high- and low-level search routines of CBS.
Moreover, anytime variant of CBS does exist that applies Focal Search (FS) to
the high-level of CBS - Anytime BCBS. However, no comprehensive analysis of how
well this algorithm performs compared to the naive one, when we simply
re-invoke CBS with the decreased sub-optimality bound, was present. This work
aims at filling this gap. Moreover, we present and evaluate another anytime
version of CBS that uses FS on both levels of CBS. Empirically, we show that
its behavior is principally different from the one demonstrated by Anytime
BCBS. Finally, we compare both algorithms head-to-head and show that using
Focal Search on both levels of CBS can be beneficial in a wide range of setups.Comment: This is a preprint of the paper accepted to MICAI 202
Anytime Stereo Image Depth Estimation on Mobile Devices
Many applications of stereo depth estimation in robotics require the
generation of accurate disparity maps in real time under significant
computational constraints. Current state-of-the-art algorithms force a choice
between either generating accurate mappings at a slow pace, or quickly
generating inaccurate ones, and additionally these methods typically require
far too many parameters to be usable on power- or memory-constrained devices.
Motivated by these shortcomings, we propose a novel approach for disparity
prediction in the anytime setting. In contrast to prior work, our end-to-end
learned approach can trade off computation and accuracy at inference time.
Depth estimation is performed in stages, during which the model can be queried
at any time to output its current best estimate. Our final model can process
1242375 resolution images within a range of 10-35 FPS on an NVIDIA
Jetson TX2 module with only marginal increases in error -- using two orders of
magnitude fewer parameters than the most competitive baseline. The source code
is available at https://github.com/mileyan/AnyNet .Comment: Accepted by ICRA201
Mobile Usability in Educational Contexts: What have we learnt?
The successful development of mobile learning is dependent on human factors in the use of new mobile and wireless technologies. The majority of mobile learning activity continues to take place on devices that were not designed with educational applications in mind, and usability issues are often reported. The paper reflects on progress in approaches to usability and on recent developments, with particular reference to usability findings reported in studies of mobile learning. The requirements of education are considered as well as the needs of students participating in distance education; discipline-specific perspectives and accessibility issues are also addressed. Usability findings from empirical studies of mobile learning published in the literature are drawn together in the paper, along with an account of issues that emerged in two mobile learning projects based at The Open University, UK, in 2001 and 2005. The main conclusions are: that usability issues are often reported in cases where PDAs have been used; that the future is in scenario-based design which should also take into account the evolution of uses over time and the unpredictability of how devices might be used; and that usability issues should be tracked over a longer period, from initial use through to a state of relative experience with the technology
Revisiting Bounded-Suboptimal Safe Interval Path Planning
Safe-interval path planning (SIPP) is a powerful algorithm for finding a path
in the presence of dynamic obstacles. SIPP returns provably optimal solutions.
However, in many practical applications of SIPP such as path planning for
robots, one would like to trade-off optimality for shorter planning time. In
this paper we explore different ways to build a bounded-suboptimal SIPP and
discuss their pros and cons. We compare the different bounded-suboptimal
versions of SIPP experimentally. While there is no universal winner, the
results provide insights into when each method should be used
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