98,592 research outputs found
Batch Nonlinear Continuous-Time Trajectory Estimation as Exactly Sparse Gaussian Process Regression
In this paper, we revisit batch state estimation through the lens of Gaussian
process (GP) regression. We consider continuous-discrete estimation problems
wherein a trajectory is viewed as a one-dimensional GP, with time as the
independent variable. Our continuous-time prior can be defined by any
nonlinear, time-varying stochastic differential equation driven by white noise;
this allows the possibility of smoothing our trajectory estimates using a
variety of vehicle dynamics models (e.g., `constant-velocity'). We show that
this class of prior results in an inverse kernel matrix (i.e., covariance
matrix between all pairs of measurement times) that is exactly sparse
(block-tridiagonal) and that this can be exploited to carry out GP regression
(and interpolation) very efficiently. When the prior is based on a linear,
time-varying stochastic differential equation and the measurement model is also
linear, this GP approach is equivalent to classical, discrete-time smoothing
(at the measurement times); when a nonlinearity is present, we iterate over the
whole trajectory to maximize accuracy. We test the approach experimentally on a
simultaneous trajectory estimation and mapping problem using a mobile robot
dataset.Comment: Submitted to Autonomous Robots on 20 November 2014, manuscript #
AURO-D-14-00185, 16 pages, 7 figure
DCTM: Discrete-Continuous Transformation Matching for Semantic Flow
Techniques for dense semantic correspondence have provided limited ability to
deal with the geometric variations that commonly exist between semantically
similar images. While variations due to scale and rotation have been examined,
there lack practical solutions for more complex deformations such as affine
transformations because of the tremendous size of the associated solution
space. To address this problem, we present a discrete-continuous transformation
matching (DCTM) framework where dense affine transformation fields are inferred
through a discrete label optimization in which the labels are iteratively
updated via continuous regularization. In this way, our approach draws
solutions from the continuous space of affine transformations in a manner that
can be computed efficiently through constant-time edge-aware filtering and a
proposed affine-varying CNN-based descriptor. Experimental results show that
this model outperforms the state-of-the-art methods for dense semantic
correspondence on various benchmarks
A Discrete Geometric Optimal Control Framework for Systems with Symmetries
This paper studies the optimal motion control of
mechanical systems through a discrete geometric approach. At
the core of our formulation is a discrete Lagrange-d’Alembert-
Pontryagin variational principle, from which are derived discrete
equations of motion that serve as constraints in our optimization
framework. We apply this discrete mechanical approach to
holonomic systems with symmetries and, as a result, geometric
structure and motion invariants are preserved. We illustrate our
method by computing optimal trajectories for a simple model of
an air vehicle flying through a digital terrain elevation map, and
point out some of the numerical benefits that ensue
Reducing "Structure From Motion": a General Framework for Dynamic Vision - Part 1: Modeling
The literature on recursive estimation of structure and motion from monocular image sequences comprises a large number of different models and estimation techniques. We propose a framework that allows us to derive and compare all models by following the idea of dynamical system reduction.
The "natural" dynamic model, derived by the rigidity constraint and the perspective projection, is first reduced by explicitly decoupling structure (depth) from motion. Then implicit decoupling techniques are explored, which consist of imposing that some function of the unknown parameters is held constant. By appropriately choosing such a function, not only can we account for all models seen so far in the literature, but we can also derive novel ones
Discrete mechanics and optimal control for constrained systems
The equations of motion of a controlled mechanical system subject to holonomic constraints may be formulated in terms
of the states and controls by applying a constrained version of the Lagrange-d’Alembert principle. This paper derives a
structure-preserving scheme for the optimal control of such systems using, as one of the key ingredients, a discrete analogue
of that principle. This property is inherited when the system is reduced to its minimal dimension by the discrete null
space method. Together with initial and final conditions on the configuration and conjugate momentum, the reduced discrete
equations serve as nonlinear equality constraints for the minimization of a given objective functional. The algorithm yields
a sequence of discrete configurations together with a sequence of actuating forces, optimally guiding the system from the
initial to the desired final state. In particular, for the optimal control of multibody systems, a force formulation consistent
with the joint constraints is introduced. This enables one to prove the consistency of the evolution of momentum maps.
Using a two-link pendulum, the method is compared with existing methods. Further, it is applied to a satellite reorientation
maneuver and a biomotion problem
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