An Improved ICP Algorithm Based on the Sensor Projection for Automatic 3D Registration

Three-dimensional (3D) registration is the process aligning the range data sets form different views in a common coordinate system. In order to generate a complete 3D model, we need to refine the data sets after coarse registration. One of the most popular refinery techniques is the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm, which starts with pre-estimated overlapping regions. This paper presents an improved ICP algorithm that can automatically register multiple 3D data sets from unknown viewpoints. The sensor projection that represents the mapping of the 3D data into its associated range image and a cross projection are used to determine the overlapping region of two range data sets. By combining ICP algorithm with the sensor projection, we can make an automatic registration of multiple 3D sets without pre-procedures that are prone to errors and any mechanical positioning device or manual assistance. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method can achieve more precise 3D registration of a couple of 3D data sets than previous methods.