New Algorithm Improves Robot Perception

Robot perception relies on sensors that often provide noisy or misleading inputs. MIT's GNC algorithm allows the robot to decide which data points to trust and which to discard. One application of the GNC algorithm is called shape alignment. A robot estimates the 3D location and orientation of a car using 2D camera images. The robot receives a camera image with many points labeled by a feature-detection algorithm: headlights, wheels, mirrors.