Stereo matching algorithm for lunar rover

A feature-assisted area-matching algorithm for lunar rover is brought forward based on the analysis of the stereo vision system and working surroundings of lunar rover. The matching is divided into feature-matching phase and area-matching phase. In feature-matching phase geometric constraints and multi-criterion matching strategy are used to build highly reliable edge matching results. Edge matching results are then filtered and utilized to assist area-matching and to reduce the amount of false matches occurring in texture-lacking areas in ordinary area-matching. The algorithm integrates the merits of feature-matching and area-matching and is capable of building dense disparity map with rather high accuracy. Experimental results indicate that the algorithm performs well when used in the matching of stereo image pair of outdoor terrain and satisfies the need of vision-based navigation for lunar rover.