3d reconstruction& surface representation for aerial ... · 3d reconstruction& surface...

Autonomous Systems Lab Prof. Dr. Roland Siegwart

Vision for Robotics Lab Prof. Dr. Margarita Chli

3D Reconstruction& Surface Representation for Aerial Manipulation Kurzbeschreibung / short description

The goal of this project is to evaluate existing methods for 3D reconstruction and surface representa-tions and to deveop a strategy for 3D reconstruction and surface representation for manipulation puro-poses, in real-time.

As research in small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) gradually provides them with navigation auton-omy using onboard sensors, the natural next step is to not only employ these vehicles for inspection of large areas, but also to conduct simple manipulation tasks, such as removal of excess snow on power transmission lines or surface cleaning for Non Destructive Testing (NDT). In order to be able to actually interact with the environment in such a way, a dexterous manipulator with significant workspace mounted on the belly of the UAV will allow the execution of manipulation tasks. Additionally, we need a dense map representation of the area of interest and the sparse point clouds typically used for naviga-tion are not detailed enough for such tasks.

In this spirit, this project is aimed at the development of a new pipeline for 3D scene reconstruction of an area of interest using a brand new Realsense RGBD camera (providing color images and accurate point clouds with a range of about 1.2m). This camera will be mounted onboard of a small UAV with field of view covering most of the workspace of the manipulator to reconstruct the working area of the manipulator for manipulation purposes.

The student taking this project needs to be highly motivated, preferably with strong analytical skills, while experience in coding in C/C++ would be beneficial. The student will have the opportunity to work with a real setup and equipment offerred by the labs involved. This work is part of a large European project and a successful method will directly be used within in the framework developed for this project.

above: Small AscTec hexacopter with manipulator (CAD) and Intel Realsense RGBD camera to be used left: Aerial Manipulation for power lines (artist’s im-pression)

The Realsense RGBD camera outputs a 3D depth image of the current view as shown on the left and the correspondng visual image as on the right.



Typ / type Master’s thesis Zeitdauer / period Autumn semester

Betreuung intern / internal supervisor

Margarita Chli, [email protected] Mina Kamel, [email protected]

Stichworte / key words Surface representation, 3D reconstruction, RGBD, UAV, mapping, robot physical in-teraction Umfeld / context This Master thesis is a part of AEROWORKS, a large European project on collaborative aerial inspec-tion and maintenance. Both the Vision for Robotics Lab and the Autonomous Systems Lab are collab-orating in the supervision of this project as part of AEROWORKS. Arbeitspakete / work packages The work to be undertaken involves four main workpackages (WP): • WP1: Research into existing 3D reconstruction techniques from RGBD, laser and visual data • WP2: Development of a new pipeline to create real-time, smooth reconstructions of an area of in-

terest • WP3: Interfacing of this pipeline with an existing motion estimation pipeline for UAV navigation • WP4: Experimentation with real data, captured with the UAV in motion and evaluation of results



Rahmenbedigung / Formal Requirements A work schedule has to be established and presented to the supervisors before November 3, 2015.

An intermediate presentation (about 10 minutes presentation and 10 minutes discussion) about your work will take place during December 2015. The goal of the presentation is to give a brief summary of the work done, to propose a precise plan for the continuation of the project, and to discuss about the main directions of the project.

A report followed by a summary of one page, has to be handed in to the responsible supervisor with 3 copies on 23 February 2016. A preliminary version has to be handed in one week before the final submission. The report has to describe the full work performed during the whole project. All docu-ments, including the report (original data and as a PDF file), the summary as a PDF file, and the final presentation have to be saved in a CD-ROM and handed over to the supervisors by the final presenta-tion, at the latest.

A final presentation of 30 minutes (about 20 minutes of presentation and demonstration and 10 minutes of questioning) will take place at March 2015.

The project is judged according to ASL evaluation sheet that is handed out by the responsible super-visor.

Responsible Professor Responsible Supervisor Signature Signature

Name Name

Zurich, June 30, 2015 Notes The internet provides abounded information about how to write a scientific report and how to make a presentation. The report and presentation should be done according these common guidelines and the instructions from your supervisors. We recommend reading the following instructions before you start with your work: Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students http://www.writing.eng.vt.edu/ Prof. Bernstein’s Student Guides http://aerospace.engin.umich.edu/people/faculty/bernstein/guide.html Style and format of your report should follow common practice and according the instructions of your supervisors. However, the ETH template is used preferably for the presentation. We recommend you to use Microsoft Office, OpenOffice or LaTex to create your report and presenta-tion. Report: Podlubny and Kassayova, Authoring Scientific and Technical Documents with Microsoft Word 2000, International Science Publishing, January 2001. Oetiker et al., The Not So Short Introduction to LaTex 2e, May 2006. http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/lshort/english/lshort.pdf Latex Editor http://www.toolscenter.org/ or http://www.lyx.org/ Presentation: Tufte, PowerPoint is Evil, WIRED, September 2003. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html



The LaTeX Beamer Class http://latex-beamer.sourceforge.net/