Obstacle Detection Based on Fusion Between Stereovision and 2D Laser Scanner

Obstacle detection is an essential task for mobile robots. This subject has been investigated for many years by researchers and a lot of obstacle detection systems have been proposed so far. Yet designing an accurate and totally robust and reliable system remains a challenging task, above all in outdoor environments. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to present new techniques and tools to design an accurate, robust and reliable obstacle detection system in outdoor environments based on a minimal number of sensors. So far, experiments and assessments of already developed systems show that using a single sensor is not enough to meet the requirements: at least two complementary sensors are needed. In this chapter a stereovision sensor and a 2D laser scanner are considered.