Method and system for calibrating a network of multiple horizontally scanning range finders

US10444332B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg · DE

Inventors

• Jörg Röwekämper · Kenzingen, DE
• Michael Ruhnke · Denzlingen, DE
• Bastian Steder · Freiburg im Breisgau, DE
• Gian Diego Tipaldi · Zürich, CH
• Wolfram Burgard · Denzlingen, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 17, 2016
• Grant date: Oct 15, 2019
• Expiry date: Oct 2, 2036

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01S17/42
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A method and a system for calibrating a network of multiple range finders are disclosed. In an embodiment, the method includes performing a measurement with the range finders during a movement of an object through an area covered by the network, identifying, for each range finder, data sets of the measurement associated with the moving object, based on a static analysis of the respective range finder, determining, for each pair of overlapping range finders, an estimated relative transformation between respective poses of the pair, based on the identified data sets of the pair, determining an initial maximum likelihood configuration of poses of all of the range finders based on the estimated relative transformations of each pair and iteratively determining sets of point correspondences of the identified data sets and if a distance of the points in the pair is below a threshold, the threshold being redefined decreasingly for each iteration.