Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/J07891/01
Title:	PART IDENTIFICATION AND POSITIONING BY SENSOR FUSION
Principal Investigator:	Wallace, Emeritus Professor A
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Computing & Electrical Engineering
Organisation:	Heriot-Watt University
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	14 June 1993	Ends:	13 June 1996	Value (£):	187,882
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Image & Vision Computing
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
To build a dual depth/intensity sensing system which acquires intensity data coincident with a depth image and in normal light. This should include a variable detector-source geometry to minimise occlusion which is a common problem in triangulation sensors.To design and implement a software architecture which produces a three dimensional scene description, having planar and curved surface patches and extended, semantically labelled space curves. This is not feasible using a single (depth or intensity) mode of sensing.Progress:l. We have completed an evaluation of several optional designs for an active laser triangulation sensor to acquire registered depth and intensity data at variable resolution and baseline separation. The principal options included unconventional rotating mirrors, planar parabolic, elliptical and stepped mirrors. All designs allowed the projection of a laser stripe to a common focus point for various baseline separations.2. Following evaluation, we have completed the detailed design of the preferred solution (with planar elliptical mirrors) using optical design software (CODEV) and CAD packages. A laser line is formed by an oscillating mirror and projected onto a plane mirror placed at one focus of the elliptical mirror. The laser line reflected from the plane mirror is projected onto the elliptical mirror and then to the complimentary focus of the ellipse. The plane mirror may be rotated to address the laser stripe to any part of the elliptical mirror providing variable resolution and minimising occlusion. The intensity camera is located at the extremity of the long axis of the ellipse defined by the mirrors. This system has just been built and is being evaluated. 3. Using an existing conventional triangulation sensor, we have completed calibration and data acquisition procedures based on a C++ object oriented library. These procedures can be used with minor modification on the new sensor. 4. We have extended and re-appraised our approach to fusion of depth and intensity image data to provide a more complete semantic labelling of edge data, and to reconstruct the depth data. To date, we have encoded a more robust method of detection of discontinuities in depth and intensity data, based on iterative edge detection and fitting of surface profiles between hypothetical edges. This is now complete. We are now working on the second stage of the process, in which edges are labelled as one of the set (blade, fold, extremal, mark, specular, shadow, null) according to the nature of the adjacent depth and intensity surface profiles, and updated by a relaxation algorithm.Future work is aimed at evaluation of both the hardware and software which we have developed, and the encoding of algorithms for data processing and control. For example, intensity data alone can be used to direct the depth sensor to selectively examine, or scan non-uniformly parts of the scene. As different parts of the scene have different resolution and different reliability, these may be processed in a manner which takes this into account.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.hw.ac.uk