Surface roughness characterization and pathway detection via laser for vehicle navigation

A new technique for online surface roughness characterization is presented in this paper. A laser range finder is the only sensor used. After being set a calibration criterion, each new scan received from a given surface is classified into a roughness level. Surface roughness is graded in four levels: smooth, low, medium and high roughness. The presented identification method does not depend on the terrain slope. Additionally, a new method for pathway detection is also introduced. The algorithm returns, for each scan, different segments containing different levels of roughness. Pathway limits are determined by neighbor segments whose respective roughness is quite different. These techniques are intended to improve the safety for vehicle navigation.