Variational approach to sensor fusion using registered range andintensity data,

摘要

Abstract: Past research into multi-modality sensor data fusion has given rise to approaches that can be characterized as heuristical and ad hoc. In this paper we propose a framework for fusing different modalities of registered sensory inputs at the data level by using the calculus of variations. The result is a mathematically rigorous method for improving the data quality, which can subsequently be utilized for fusion at the higher levels. We demonstrate this approach on the problem of estimating the three dimensional scene via the use of simulated noisy range and intensity images. The results indicate that a significant improvement over shape estimation via either shape from shading or shape from ranging alone can be achieved. The applicability of our fusion paradigm to other fusion problems is also discussed. !16