Joint 2-D-3-D Traffic Sign Landmark Data Set for Geo-Localization Using Mobile Laser Scanning Data

This paper presents a framework to build a joint 2-D-3-D traffic sign landmark data set for geo-localization using mobile laser scanning (MLS) data. The MLS data include 3-D point clouds and corresponding multi-view images. First, an integrated method, based on a deep learning network and the retro-reflective properties of traffic signs, is developed to accurately extract traffic signs from MLS point clouds. Next, the semantic and spatial properties of the traffic signs (type, location, position, and geometric characteristics) are obtained. Then, a joint 2-D-3-D traffic sign landmark data set is built, and a semantic-spatial organization graph is used to organize the traffic sign data set. Last, based on the traffic sign landmark data set, a geo-localization method for a driving car is proposed to estimate the driving trajectory. It can be used for auxiliary positioning of autonomous vehicles. Experimental results demonstrate the reliability of our proposed method for traffic sign detection and the potential of building 2-D-3-D traffic sign landmark data set for driving trajectory estimation from MLS data.