Integrating Off-Board Cameras and Vehicle On-Board Localization for Pedestrian Safety

Situational awareness for industrial vehicles is crucial to ensure safety of personnel and equipment. While human drivers and onboard sensors are able to detect obstacles and pedestrians within line-of-sight, in complex environments, initially occluded or obscured dynamic objects can unpredictably enter the path of a vehicle. We propose a system that integrates a vision-based offboard pedestrian tracking subsystem with an onboard localization and navigation subsystem. This combination enables warnings to be communicated and effectively extends the vehicle controller's field of view to include areas that would otherwise be blind spots. A simple flashing light interface in the vehicle cabin provides a clear and intuitive interface to alert drivers of potential collisions. Alternatively, the system can be also applied to vehicles that have autonomous navigation capabilities, in which case, instead of alert lights, the vehicle is halted or redirected. We implemented and tested the proposed solution on an automated industrial vehicle under autonomous operation and on a human-driven vehicle in a full-scale production facility, over a period of four months.