Disparity Maps for Free Path Detection

In this paper we introduce a method to detect free paths in real-time using disparity maps from a pair of rectified stereo images. Disparity maps are obtained by processing the disparities between left and right rectified images from a stereo-vision system. The proposed algorithm is based on the fact that disparity values decrease linearly from the bottom of the image to the top. By applying least-squares fitting over groups of image columns to a linear model, free paths are detected. Only those pixels that fulfil the matching requirements are identified as free path. Results from outdoor scenarios are also presented.

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