Scene terrain classification for autonomous vehicle navigation based on semantic segmentation method

• Published in: Transactions of the Institute of Measurement and Control 2022-09, Vol.44 (13), p.2574-2587
• Main Authors: Julius Fusic, S, Hariharan, K, Sitharthan, R, Karthikeyan, S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Artificial neural networks; Autonomous navigation; Autonomous vehicles; Barriers; Classification; Classifiers; Cyber-physical systems; Datasets; Deep learning; Image acquisition; Image classification; Image segmentation; Logistics; Machine learning; Model accuracy; Safety; Semantic segmentation; Semantics; Sensors; Terrain
• ISSN: 0142-3312; 1477-0369
• DOI: 10.1177/01423312211062972

Autonomous transportation is a new paradigm of an Industry 5.0 cyber-physical system that provides a lot of opportunities in smart logistics applications. The safety and reliability of deep learning-driven systems are still a question under research. The safety of an autonomous guided vehicle is dependent on the proper selection of sensors and the transmission of reflex data. Several academics worked on sensor-based difficulties by developing a sensor correction system and fine-tuning algorithms to regulate the system’s efficiency and precision. In this paper, the introduction of vision sensor and its scene terrain classification using a deep learning algorithm is performed with proposed datasets during sensor failure conditions. The proposed classification technique is to identify the mobile robot obstacle and obstacle-free path for smart logistic vehicle application. To analyze the information from the acquired image datasets, the proposed classification algorithm employs segmentation techniques. The analysis of proposed dataset is validated with U-shaped convolutional network (U-Net) architecture and region-based convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) architecture model. Based on the results, the selection of 1400 raw image datasets is trained and validated using semantic segmentation classifier models. For various terrain dataset clusters, the Mask R-CNN classifier model method has the highest model accuracy of 93%, that is, 23% higher than the U-Net classifier model algorithm, which has the lowest model accuracy nearly 70%. As a result, the suggested Mask R-CNN technique has a significant potential of being used in autonomous vehicle applications.