Mono-Camera-Based Robust Self-Localization Using LIDAR Intensity Map

An image-based self-localization method for automated vehicles is proposed herein. The general self-localization method estimates a vehicle’s location on a map by collating a predefined map with a sensor’s observation values. The same sensor, generally light detection and ranging (LIDAR), is used to acquire map data and observation values. In this study, to develop a low-cost self-localization system, we estimate the vehicle’s location on a LIDAR-created map using images captured by a mono-camera. The similarity distribution between a mono-camera image transformed into a bird’s-eye image and a map is created in advance by template matching the images. Furthermore, a method to estimate a vehicle’s location based on the acquired similarity is proposed. The proposed self-localization method is evaluated on the driving data from urban public roads; it is found that the proposed method improved the robustness of the self-localization system compared with the previous camera-based method.