CylinderTag: An Accurate and Flexible Marker for Cylinder-Shape Objects Pose Estimation Based on Projective Invariants

High-precision pose estimation based on visual markers has been a thriving research topic in the field of computer vision. However, the suitability of traditional flat markers on curved objects is limited due to the diverse shapes of curved surfaces, which hinders the development of high-precision pose estimation for curved objects. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel visual marker called CylinderTag, which is designed for developable curved surfaces such as cylindrical surfaces. CylinderTag is a cyclic marker that can be firmly attached to objects with a cylindrical shape. Leveraging the manifold assumption, the cross-ratio in projective invariance is utilized for encoding in the direction of zero curvature on the surface. Additionally, to facilitate the usage of CylinderTag, we propose a heuristic search-based marker generator and a high-performance recognizer as well. Moreover, an all-encompassing evaluation of CylinderTag properties is conducted by means of extensive experimentation, covering detection rate, detection speed, dictionary size, localization jitter, and pose estimation accuracy. CylinderTag showcases superior detection performance from varying view angles in comparison to traditional visual markers, accompanied by higher localization accuracy. Furthermore, CylinderTag boasts real-time detection capability and an extensive marker dictionary, offering enhanced versatility and practicality in a wide range of applications. Experimental results demonstrate that the CylinderTag is a highly promising visual marker for use on cylindrical-like surfaces, thus offering important guidance for future research on high-precision visual localization of cylinder-shaped objects.