Adaptive planar vision marker composed of LED arrays for sensing under low visibility

In image processing and robotic applications, two-dimensional (2D) black and white patterned planar markers are widely used. However, these markers are not detectable in low visibility environment and they are not changeable. This research proposes an active and adaptive marker node, which displays 2D marker patterns using light emitting diode (LED) arrays for easier recognition in the foggy or turbid underwater environments. Because each node is made to blink at a different frequency, active LED marker nodes were distinguishable from each other from a long distance without increasing the size of the marker. We expect that the proposed system can be used in various harsh conditions where the conventional marker systems are not applicable because of low visibility issues. The proposed system is still compatible with the conventional marker as the displayed patterns are identical.