Road curb detection using 3D lidar and integral laser points for intelligent vehicles

Road curb detection and tracking is essential for the autonomous driving of intelligent vehicles on highways and urban roads. In this paper, we present a fast and robust road curb detection algorithm using 3D lidar data and Integral Laser Points (ILP) features. Range and intensity data of the 3D lidar is decomposed into elevation data and data projected on the ground plane. First, left and right road curbs are detected for each scan line using the ground projected range and intensity data and line segment features. Then, curb points of each scan line are determined using elevation data. The ILP features are proposed to speed up the both detection procedures. Finally, parabola model and RANSAC algorithm is used to fit the left and right curb points and generate vehicle controlling parameters. The proposed method and feature provide fast and reliable road curb detection speed and performance. Experiments show good results on various highways and urban roads under different situations.