NVIDIA Corporation
SURFACE PROFILE ESTIMATION AND BUMP DETECTION FOR AUTONOMOUS MACHINE APPLICATIONS

Abstract:

In various examples, surface profile estimation and bump detection may be performed based on a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud. The 3D point cloud may be filtered in view of a portion of an environment including drivable free-space, and within a threshold height to factor out other objects or obstacles other than a driving surface and protuberances thereon. The 3D point cloud may be analyzed--e.g., using a sliding window of bounding shapes along a longitudinal or other heading direction--to determine one-dimensional (1D) signal profiles corresponding to heights along the driving surface. The profile itself may be used by a vehicle--e.g., an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle--to help in navigating the environment, and/or the profile may be used to detect bumps, humps, and/or other protuberances along the driving surface, in addition to a location, orientation, and geometry thereof