DVS-Aware Visual Perception for Pose Estimation of Mobile Robots with Neuromorphic Implementation

The Dynamic Vision Sensor (DVS) is a distinctive visual sensor that exclusively responds to alterations in pixel brightness, enabling the real-time capture of swift and subtle movements with reduced power consumption and data bandwidth requirements. This paper proposes a DVS-aware visual perception method and presents its application for pose estimation of mobile robots. Specifically, a new marker is designed to provide pose reference data that leverages the inherent advantages of DVS more effectively. Moreover, we formulate a pose recognition system incorporating DVS, an algorithm based on Spiking Convolutional Neural Networks (SCNN) and a neuromorphic computing accelerator (Lynxi HS110). Such a formulation can well explore the DVS's advantages, as its event-triggered feature matches the nature of SCNN while the neuromorphic hardware enables efficient, low-power execution, making the system highly suitable for real-time embedded applications. Comparative analysis with traditional ARcode-based pose recognition methods reveals that our innovative approach demonstrates significant advantages in recognition speed and energy efficiency. The whole system is deployed on mobile robots and evaluated in real-world scenarios.