Line-based 6-DoF Object Pose Estimation and Tracking With an Event CameraZibin Liu, Banglei Guan, Yang Shang et al.
Pose estimation and tracking of objects is a fundamental application in 3D vision. Event cameras possess remarkable attributes such as high dynamic range, low latency, and resilience against motion blur, which enables them to address challenging high dynamic range scenes or high-speed motion. These features make event cameras an ideal complement over standard cameras for object pose estimation. In this work, we propose a line-based robust pose estimation and tracking method for planar or non-planar objects using an event camera. Firstly, we extract object lines directly from events, then provide an initial pose using a globally-optimal Branch-and-Bound approach, where 2D-3D line correspondences are not known in advance. Subsequently, we utilize event-line matching to establish correspondences between 2D events and 3D models. Furthermore, object poses are refined and continuously tracked by minimizing event-line distances. Events are assigned different weights based on these distances, employing robust estimation algorithms. To evaluate the precision of the proposed methods in object pose estimation and tracking, we have devised and established an event-based moving object dataset. Compared against state-of-the-art methods, the robustness and accuracy of our methods have been validated both on synthetic experiments and the proposed dataset. The source code is available at https://github.com/Zibin6/LOPET.
Stereo Event-based, 6-DOF Pose Tracking for Uncooperative SpacecraftZibin Liu, Banglei Guan, Yang Shang et al.
Pose tracking of uncooperative spacecraft is an essential technology for space exploration and on-orbit servicing, which remains an open problem. Event cameras possess numerous advantages, such as high dynamic range, high temporal resolution, and low power consumption. These attributes hold the promise of overcoming challenges encountered by conventional cameras, including motion blur and extreme illumination, among others. To address the standard on-orbit observation missions, we propose a line-based pose tracking method for uncooperative spacecraft utilizing a stereo event camera. To begin with, we estimate the wireframe model of uncooperative spacecraft, leveraging the spatio-temporal consistency of stereo event streams for line-based reconstruction. Then, we develop an effective strategy to establish correspondences between events and projected lines of uncooperative spacecraft. Using these correspondences, we formulate the pose tracking as a continuous optimization process over 6-DOF motion parameters, achieved by minimizing event-line distances. Moreover, we construct a stereo event-based uncooperative spacecraft motion dataset, encompassing both simulated and real events. The proposed method is quantitatively evaluated through experiments conducted on our self-collected dataset, demonstrating an improvement in terms of effectiveness and accuracy over competing methods. The code will be open-sourced at https://github.com/Zibin6/SE6PT.