Computer Vision & Perception Engineer Roadmap
Give robots eyes: 3D point cloud processing, real-time object detection with YOLO, and Visual Odometry.
Master 2D and 3D computer vision for robotics: OpenCV pipeline optimization, camera intrinsic/extrinsic calibration, stereo vision, depth sensors (RealSense), Point Cloud Library (PCL), YOLOv8 object detection with TensorRT, and AprilTag fiducial tracking.
Roadmap Curriculum & Milestones
Complete each sequential phase to build production-grade robotics competencies.
Phase 1: Classical Vision & Camera Calibration
Understand pinhole camera models, lens distortion coefficients, stereo triangulation, and OpenCV acceleration.
Pinhole Camera Model, Intrinsic Calibration & AprilTags
Calibrate cameras using chessboard patterns, rectify lens barrel distortion, and calculate 6-DOF pose of AprilTags and ArUco markers.
- Intrinsic & Extrinsic Parameters
- Radial/Tangential Distortion Rectification
- Perspective-n-Point (PnP) Solver
- Fiducial Marker Tracking
- Visual servoing tracking node maintaining fixed camera distance to an AprilTag
Phase 2: 3D Vision & Point Cloud Processing
Work with RGB-D depth cameras (Intel RealSense, OAK-D) and Point Cloud Library (PCL).
Point Cloud Filtering, RANSAC Plane Segmentation & ICP
Filter voxel grids, remove statistical outliers, segment tabletop planes using RANSAC, and align point clouds with Iterative Closest Point (ICP).
- VoxelGrid Downsampling
- RANSAC Plane Fitting
- Euclidean Cluster Extraction
- Iterative Closest Point (ICP) Registration
- Tabletop 3D object segmentation and bounding box publisher for robotic grasping
Phase 3: Deep Learning & Edge AI on NVIDIA Jetson
Deploy real-time neural networks (YOLOv8, SegFormer) optimized with NVIDIA TensorRT on edge robotics platforms.
Real-Time Object Detection with YOLOv8 & TensorRT
Train custom object detection models, convert ONNX weights to TensorRT INT8 engines, and run inference at 60+ FPS on Jetson Orin.
- Custom Dataset Annotation
- PyTorch to ONNX Export
- TensorRT Engine Optimization
- Zero-Copy Jetson Memory Management
- Real-time 3D object detection combining 2D YOLO bounding boxes with RealSense depth
Ready to begin Phase 1?
Dive into our free hands-on tutorials and build your first physical prototype.