Real-time 3-D mapping for robotic applications

Abstract

BAE Systems is pursuing research in real-time 3-D mapping technology that can be used to navigate an unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV). Geospatial technology, such as digital photogrammetry and GIS, offers advanced capabilities to produce 2-D and 3-D static maps using UAV data. The goal is to develop real-time UAV navigation through increased automation. We believe the next breakthrough may be automatically identifying 3-D objects. Consequently, our team has developed software that recognizes certain types of 3-D objects within 3-D point clouds. Although our software is developed for modeling, simulation, and visualization applications, it has the potential to be valuable in robotics and UAV applications.