Fusion of occupancy grid mapping and model based object tracking for driver assistance systems using laser and radar sensors

in this paper we present a novel environment perception system based on an occupancy grid mapping and a multi-object tracking. The goal of such a system is to create a harmonic, consistent and complete representation of the vehicle environment as a base for future advanced driver assistance systems. In addition to a mathematical formulation of the problem we present a robust algorithm to detect dynamic obstacles from the occupancy map and show how both, the mapping process and the tracking can benefit from each other. Therefore, the concept of moving objects with associated dynamic cells is introduced. The presented techniques are applicable to both 2D and 3D mapping and can be also extended to correct the ego motion from the occupancy map and the object tracks. Unlike many publications over the last years our work provides real time performance and an accurate detection of obstacles with real laser and radar sensors and can fulfill the requirements of future driver assistance systems.