Recognition of dynamic objects from UGVs using Interconnected Neural network-based Computer Vision system

Abstract

In this study, moving object recognition is performed by using images from a camera mounted on an unmanned ground vehicle. A GPS coordinate-based algorithm has been developed to obtain moving object silhouettes. In order to classify these silhouettes, an interconnected artificial neural network (ICANN) architecture consisting of two stages has been developed. The method consists of two phases. In the first phase, real-time images are converted to binary images at the end of the GPS-assisted image registration process. Then, the silhouettes are extracted from the background of the images using connected component labelling. In the second phase, two interconnected neural networks are used. The first neural network classifies silhouettes as objects or noise. The second neural network divides objects into seven subclasses as pedestrians, potholes, cars, etc. Compared to CNN-based techniques, a simpler NN architecture was employed in the research, and better accuracy rates were achieved with fewer samples. Another contribution of the research is simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) applications can be performed in non-GPS environments using pre-recorded images containing GPS information. In experimental studies, maximum success rates of 96,1% in object classification were obtained. The results obtained were compared to YOLO, the recently popular algorithm for object recognition.

Keywords

• moving object recognition
• gps assisted recognition
• robot vision
• neural networks
• image registration