Perception
Ground Plane
The ground plane is the planar model of the floor or terrain surface in a robot's environment, estimated from point clouds, stereo, or IMU-aided vision, commonly via RANSAC plane fitting or by assuming a known camera height. Ground plane estimates support obstacle segmentation by removing floor points, drivable-area detection, scale recovery in monocular vision, and placing detected objects at metrically correct heights.
Why it matters for physical AI
Separating ground from obstacle is the first perceptual act of any mobile robot, and errors here propagate directly into navigation safety, making robust ground estimation a quietly critical component.
Related terms
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