ROBUST HUMAN DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION BY USING STEREO AND THERMAL IMAGES IN HUMAN ROBOT INTERACTION

Abstract

In this paper, robust human detection is investigated by fusing the stereo and infrared thermal images for effective interaction between humans and socially interactive robots. A scale-adaptive filter is first designed for the stereo vision system to detect human candidates. To eliminate the difficulty of the vision system in distinguishing human beings from human-like objects, the infrared thermal image is used to solve the ambiguity and reduce the illumination effect. Experimental results show that the fusion of these two types of images gives an improved vision system for robust human detection and identification, which is the most important and essential component of human robot interaction.