A Novel Multi-Sensor Fusion Based Object Detection and Recognition Algorithm for Intelligent Assisted Driving

The object detection and recognition algorithm based on the fusion of millimeter-wave radar and high-definition video data can improve the safety of intelligent-driving vehicles effectively. However, due to the different data modalities of millimeter-wave radar and video, how to fuse the two effectively is the key point. The difficulty lies in the data fusion methods such as insufficient adaptability of image distortion in data alignment and coordinate transformation and also the mismatching of information levels of the data to be fused. To solve the problem of data fusion of millimeter wave radar and video, this paper proposes a decision-level fusion method of millimeter-wave radar and high-definition video data based on angular alignment. Specifically, through the joint calibration and approximate interpolation, projected to polar coordinate system, the radar and the camera are angularly aligned in the horizontal direction. Then objects are detected by a deep neural network model from video data, and combined with those detected by radar to make the joint decision. Finally, object detection and recognition task based on the fusion of the two kinds of data is completed. Theoretical analysis and experimental results indicate that the accuracy of the algorithm based on the two data fusion is superior to that of the single detection and recognition algorithm on the basis of millimeter-wave radar or video data.