Stereo vision three-dimensional terrain maps for precision agriculture

The combined interest in precision agriculture, information technology, and autonomous navigation has led to a growing interest in the generation of 3D maps of mobile equipment surroundings. This article proposes a method to create 3D terrain maps by combining the information captured with a stereo camera, a localization sensor, and an inertial measurement unit, all installed on a mobile equipment platform. The perception engine comprises a compact stereo camera that captures field scenes and generates 3D point clouds, which are transformed to geodetic coordinates and assembled in a global field map. The results showed that stereo perception can provide the level of detail and accuracy needed in the construction of 3D field maps for precision agriculture and field robotics applications.