Evolution of Visual Odometry Techniques

With rapid advancements in the area of mobile robotics and industrial automation, a growing need has arisen towards accurate navigation and localization of moving objects. Camera based motion estimation is one such technique which is gaining huge popularity owing to its simplicity and use of limited resources in generating motion path. In this paper, an attempt is made to introduce this topic for beginners covering different aspects of vision based motion estimation task. The evolution of VO schemes over last few decades is discussed under two broad categories, that is, geometric and non-geometric approaches. The geometric approaches are further detailed under three different classes, that is, feature-based, appearance-based, and a hybrid of feature and appearance based schemes. The non-geometric approach is one of the recent paradigm shift from conventional pose estimation technique and is thus discussed in a separate section. Towards the end, a list of different datasets for visual odometry and allied research areas are provided for a ready reference.Comment: 12 pages, 0 figur

User Experience of Markerless Augmented Reality Applications in Cultural Heritage Museums:‘MuseumEye’as a Case Study

This paper explores the User Experience (UX) of Augmented Reality applications in museums. UX as a concept is vital to effective visual communication and interpretation in museums, and to enhance usability during a museum tour. In the project ‘MuseumEye’, the augmentations generated were localized based on a hybrid system that combines of (SLAM) markerless tracking technology and the indoor Beacons or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). These augmentations include a combination of multimedia content and different levels of visual information that required for museum visitors. Using mobile devices to pilot this application, we developed a UX design model that has the ability to evaluate the user experience and usability of the application. This paper focuses on the multidisciplinary outcomes of the project from both a technical and museological perspective based on public responses. A field evaluation of the AR system was conducted after the UX model considered. Twenty-six participants were recruited in Leeds museum and another twenty participants in the Egyptian museum in Cairo. Results showed positive responses on experiencing the system after adopting the UX design model. This study contributes on synthesizing a UX design model for AR applications to reach the optimum levels of user interaction required that reflects ultimately on the entire museum experience

Marker-Less Augmented Reality for Human Robot Interaction

This paper presents the marker-less augmented reality system for in-situ visualization of robot’s plans to the human operator. The system finds the natural features in the environment and builds the 3D map of the working space during the mapping phase. The stereo from motion method is utilized to compute the 3D position of natural features, while the position of the camera is computed from the artificial markers placed in the working space. Therefore the map is build in the fixed frame of reference frame provided by artificial markers. When the whole working space is mapped, artificial markers are not required for the functionality of the augmented reality system. The actually seen natural features are compared to those stored in the map and camera pose is estimated according found correspondences. The main advantages are that no artificial markers are necessary during regular use of the system, and that method does not rely on the tracking. Even the single frame is sufficient to compute the pose of camera and visualize the robot’s plan. As there is a big number of natural features in the environment, the precision of the camera pose estimation is sufficient, when the camera is looking into the mapped working space