Real-time 3D scene modeling using dynamic billboard for remote robot control systems

In this paper, a method for modeling three-dimensional scenes from a Lidar point cloud as well as a billboard calibration approach for remote mobile robot control applications are presented as a combined two-step approach. First, by projecting a local three-dimensional point cloud on two-dimensional coordinate system, we obtain a list of colored points. Based on this list, we apply a proposed ground segmentation algorithm to separate ground and non-ground areas. With the ground part, a dynamic triangular mesh is created by means of a height map and the vehicle position. The non-ground part is divided into small groups. Then, a local voxel map is applied for modeling each group. As a result, all the inner surfaces are eliminated. Second, for billboard calibration, we implement three stages in each frame. In the first stage, at the billboard location, an average ground point is estimated. In the second stage, the distortion angle is calculated. The billboard is updated for each frame in the final stage and corresponds to the terrain gradient.