Stereo Visual Odometry for Autonomus Mobile

Abstract

Estimating its ego motion is one of the most important capabilities for an autonomous mobile platform. Without reliable ego-motion estimation, no long-term navigation is possible. Besides odometry, inertial sensors, DGPS, laser range finders, and so on, vision-based algorithms can contribute a lot of information. In this paper, we want to give an integrated overview of stereo odometry. We want to emphasize the fact that stereo odometry is a chain of several single subprocesses where each relies on its predecessor’s results. The key to more accurate and efficient stereo odometry lies in an integrated analysis of its single subprocesses and the many algorithms available.