ICP registration using invariant features

This paper investigates the use of Euclidean invariant features in a generalization of iterative closest point registration of range images. Pointwise correspondences are chosen as the closest point with respect to a weighted linear combination of positional and feature distances. It is shown that under ideal noise-free conditions, correspondences formed using this distance function are correct more often than correspondences formed using the positional distance alone. In addition, monotonic convergence to at least a local minimum is shown to hold for this method. When noise is present, a method that automatically sets the optimal relative contribution of features and positions is described. This method trades off error in feature values due to noise against error in positions due to misalignment, Experimental results suggest that using invariant features decreases the probability of being trapped in a local minimum and may be an effective solution for difficult range image registration problems where the scene is very small compared to the model.