Iterative registration of 3D LADAR data for autonomous navigation

This paper describes an iterative algorithm for registration of 3D LADAR data. The proposed approach is iconic in nature with suitable modifications to deal with false/spurious matches, occlusions and outliers. Experimental results using data obtained from field trials on an experimental unmanned vehicle (XUV) are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the approach. The paper also details ongoing research efforts to determine the feasibility of employing the algorithm for real-time autonomous navigation.