We have evaluated a HDR (high dynamic range) CMOS image sensor with logarithmic response for an image-based navigation system which allows vehicles to autonomously drive on reference trajectories. The goal of the evaluation is to investigate how the advantages (constant image intensities under varying illumination conditions) and the disadvantages (higher noise and artifact levels) of the sensor affect the performance of image-based navigation. We recorded HDR image sequences using a vehicle to evaluate the performance of intra-frame image analysis which is used to estimate the vehicle motion and the respective trajectories, and the performance of inter-frame image analysis which is used for the alignment of a current trajectory to a reference trajectory. We have also performed a comparison with simultaneously recorded LDR image data on itineraries with scenes with high dynamic range.

Date Published: 3 May 2018
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 10643, Autonomous Systems: Sensors, Vehicles, Security, and the Internet of Everything, 1064309 (3 May 2018); doi: 10.1117/12.2304887

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10643:
Autonomous Systems: Sensors, Vehicles, Security, and the Internet of Everything
Michael C. Dudzik; Jennifer C. Ricklin, Editor(s)