Extrinsic Auto-calibration of a Camera and Laser Range Finder

This paper describes theoretical and experimental results for the auto-calibration of sensor platform consisting of a camera and a laser range finder. Real-world use of autonomous sensor platforms often requires the recalibration of sensors without an explicit calibration object. The constraints are based upon data captured simultaneously from the camera and the laser range finder while the sensor plat-form undergoes an arbitrary motion. The rigid motions of both sensors are related, so these data constrain the relative position and orientation of the camera and laser range finder. We introduce the mathematical constraints for auto-calibration techniques based upon both discrete and differential motions, and present simulated experimental results, and results from a implementation on a B21rT M Mobile Robot from iRobot Corporation. This framework could also encompass extrinsic calibration with GPS, inertial, infrared, and ultrasonic sensors.