Image-Based Registration of 3D-Range Data Using Feature Surface Elements

Abstract

Digitizing real-life objects via range scanners, stereo vision or tactile sensors usually requires the composition of multiple range images. In this paper we exploit intensity images often recorded with the range data and propose a fully automatic registration technique using 2D-image features with intrinsic scale information for finding corresponding points on the 3D-views. In our approach, the fine registration of two range images is performed by first aligning the feature points themselves, followed by a so-called constrained-domain alignment step. In the latter, rather than feature points, we consider feature surface elements that are derived using the scale information inherently established with the 2D-features. The global registration error is minimized using graph relaxation techniques to mediate the transformations required to align the multiple range images. We demonstrate the power and feasibility of our method by a case-study in the cultural heritage domain.