Geometric reasoning for pose and size estimation of generic shaped objects

Generic shape recognition is the problem of determining the pose and dimensions of objects for which only topological models are available (that is, the shape of the object is known but the size is unknown). One such application domain is the handling and sorting of postal objects. Because metrical information relating object features to one another is not available, the more common model-based approaches are inadequate. The INGEN (inference engine for generic object recognition) system uses a data-driven approach to recognize objects with generic shapes, such as parallelepipeds and cylinders, when the dimensions of the objects are unknown. Size and pose estimation are facilitated by a geometric reasoning process which extends objects in the direction away from the sensor until they physically contact other objects in the scene. The results of experiments which use the INGEN system to guide a robot in the manipulation of postal objects are presented