Visual Positioning System Based on 6D Object Pose Estimation Using Mobile Web

Abstract

Recently, the demand for location-based services using mobile devices in indoor spaces without a global positioning system (GPS) has increased. However, to the best of our knowledge, solutions that are fully applicable to indoor positioning and navigation and ensure real-time mobility on mobile devices, such as global navigation satellite system (GNSS) solutions, cannot achieve remarkable researches in indoor circumstances. Indoor single-shot image positioning using smartphone cameras does not require a dedicated infrastructure and offers the advantages of low price and large potential markets owing to the popularization of smartphones. However, existing methods or systems based on smartphone cameras and image algorithms encounter various limitations when implemented in indoor environments. To address this, we designed an indoor visual positioning system for mobile devices that can locate users in indoor scenes. The proposed method uses a smartphone camera to detect objects through a single image in a web environment and calculates the location of the smartphone to find users in an indoor space. The system is inexpensive because it integrates deep learning and computer vision algorithms and does not require additional infrastructure. We present a novel method of detecting 3D model objects from single-shot RGB data, estimating the 6D pose and position of the camera and correcting errors based on voxels. To this end, the popular convolutional neural network (CNN) is improved by real-time pose estimation to handle the entire 6D pose estimate the location and direction of the camera. The estimated position of the camera is addressed to a voxel to determine a stable user position. Our VPS system provides the user with indoor information in 3D AR model. The voxel address optimization approach with camera 6D position estimation using RGB images in a mobile web environment outperforms real-time performance and accuracy compared to current state-of-the-art methods using RGB depth or point cloud.