Real-Time Semantic Segmentation of 3D Point Cloud for Autonomous Driving

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles perceive objects through various sensors. Cameras, radar, and LiDAR are generally used as vehicle sensors, each of which has its own characteristics. As examples, cameras are used for a high-level understanding of a scene, radar is applied to weather-resistant distance perception, and LiDAR is used for accurate distance recognition. The ability of a camera to understand a scene has overwhelmingly increased with the recent development of deep learning. In addition, technologies that emulate other sensors using a single sensor are being developed. Therefore, in this study, a LiDAR data-based scene understanding method was developed through deep learning. The approaches to accessing LiDAR data through deep learning are mainly divided into point, projection, and voxel methods. The purpose of this study is to apply a projection method to secure a real-time performance. The convolutional neural network method used by a conventional camera can be easily applied to the projection method. In addition, an adaptive break point detector method used for conventional 2D LiDAR information is utilized to solve the misclassification caused by the conversion from 2D into 3D. The results of this study are evaluated through a comparison with other technologies.