A real time terrain recognition method for mobile robot moving

This study proposes a real time terrain recognition method for a mobile robot moving on uneven terrain. A RGB-D sensor called XtionPro is mounted on the top layer of robot to capture terrain depth image. To estimate the captured terrain depth image, a fast terrain estimation method based on virtual depth image technique and image subtraction is proposed. The proposed method provides an accurate elevation map of the front terrain. Finally, according the leading edge extracted from the elevation map, the robot can recognize that the front terrain is travelable or un-travelable.