Real-Time 3D Profiling with RGB-D Mapping in Pipelines Using Stereo Camera Vision and Structured IR Laser Ring
This provides a solution for inspecting pipe infrastructure to identify defects in real-time, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing stereo vision and laser profiling techniques.
The paper tackles real-time 3D profiling of pipelines using a crawler robot with a stereo camera and structured IR laser ring, achieving millimeter-level accuracy in detecting ovality changes and structural defects like corrosion.
This paper is focused on delivering a solution that can scan and reconstruct the 3D profile of a pipeline in real-time using a crawler robot. A structured infrared (IR) laser ring projector and a stereo camera system are used to generate the 3D profile of the pipe as the robot moves inside the pipe. The proposed stereo system does not require field calibrations and it is not affected by the lateral movement of the robot, hence capable of producing an accurate 3D map. The wavelength of the IR light source is chosen to be non overlapping with the visible spectrum of the color camera. Hence RGB color values of the depth can be obtained by projecting the 3D map into the color image frame. The proposed system is implemented in Robotic Operating System (ROS) producing real-time RGB-D maps with defects. The defect map exploit differences in ovality enabling real-time identification of structural defects such as surface corrosion in pipe infrastructure. The lab experiments showed the proposed laser profiling system can detect ovality changes of the pipe with millimeter level of accuracy and resolution.