Exploiting uncertainty in random sample consensus

In this work, we present a technique for robust estimation, which by explicitly incorporating the inherent uncertainty of the estimation procedure, results in a more efficient robust estimation algorithm. In addition, we build on recent work in randomized model verification, and use this to characterize the ‘non-randomness’ of a solution. The combination of these two strategies results in a robust estimation procedure that provides a significant speed-up over existing RANSAC techniques, while requiring no prior information to guide the sampling process. In particular, our algorithm requires, on average, 3–10 times fewer samples than standard RANSAC, which is in close agreement with theoretical predictions. The efficiency of the algorithm is demonstrated on a selection of geometric estimation problems.