Improving Depth Completion for Aerial Inspections | Riya Kumari
Improving Depth Completion for Aerial Inspections
Riya Kumari, RISS 2023 Cohort
Carnegie Mellon University
Robotics Institute Summer Scholars: https://riss.ri.cmu.edu/
Depth completion, which is the task of predicting dense depth from extremely sparse depth values, plays an important role in achieving high-quality 3D reconstruction. Current learning-based approaches employ different techniques to fuse RGB and sparse LiDAR information to improve depth prediction, however, the precision of these predictions falls short for critical downstream tasks, especially in civil infrastructure inspection where detecting small defects, like concrete spalls, requires a 3D reconstruction error accurate to the millimeter level. In this paper, we provide a method for adapting a state-of-the-art depth completion model to predict dense depth for concrete spalls. We evaluate our method on real spalling data and show improvement. We further collect and test on real bridge data and discuss our findings.
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Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute is committed to opening doors and creating opportunities for future leaders in robotics. Carnegie Mellon University is home to the top-ranked School of Computer Science, the world’s first university robotics department, the world’s first Ph.D. in robotics, and the largest university-affiliated robotics research group. Launched in 2006, CMU’s Robotics Institute Summer Scholars (RISS) program (http://riss.ri.cmu.edu/)comprises a ten-week summer undergraduate research program that immerses a diverse cohort of scholars in cutting-edge robotics and extensive post-program mentoring. The program provides opportunities for students from across the country and the world to conduct research with leaders in the field. The program aspires to foster a diverse and inclusive working and learning environment where all students enjoy the educational benefits of diversity and are actively welcomed, included, and supported by the community. The quality and breadth of research, high level of institute and university engagement, and powerful professional development programming, graduate school application counseling, and alumni network create transformative experiences and remarkable post-program trajectories.
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