Matthias Karl | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

PIXIE: A Zero-Shot texture-invariant 6D pose estimation framework for unseen objects with assembly defects

6D pose estimation remains a key challenge in robotics and computer vision, particularly in industrial environments. The deployment of currently available data-driven methods is often limited by resource-intensive data pipelines, reliance on textured 3D models, and sensitivity to geometric deviations caused by damages or assembly defects. We present PIXIE, a zero-shot framework that estimates the 6D pose of an object from an RGB image using only an untextured 3D model. Synthetic depth and normal maps are rendered from sampled reference viewpoints and matched to the query image via a pretrained cross-modality feature matcher. Matched keypoints are back-projected to obtain 2D--3D correspondences for PnP-based pose estimation. Relying exclusively on geometry makes the method inherently robust to lighting and texture variation, while correspondence filtering handles geometric deviations between the model and physical object. We evaluate on widely-used public benchmarks, reporting state-of-the-art results on texture-less objects without object-specific training, and introduce a novel dataset with assembly defects, texture variations, and occlusion to demonstrate real-world applicability.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2014

Stochastic Nonlinear Model Predictive Control with Efficient Sample Approximation of Chance Constraints

This paper presents a stochastic model predictive control approach for nonlinear systems subject to time-invariant probabilistic uncertainties in model parameters and initial conditions. The stochastic optimal control problem entails a cost function in terms of expected values and higher moments of the states, and chance constraints that ensure probabilistic constraint satisfaction. The generalized polynomial chaos framework is used to propagate the time-invariant stochastic uncertainties through the nonlinear system dynamics, and to efficiently sample from the probability densities of the states to approximate the satisfaction probability of the chance constraints. To increase computational efficiency by avoiding excessive sampling, a statistical analysis is proposed to systematically determine a-priori the least conservative constraint tightening required at a given sample size to guarantee a desired feasibility probability of the sample-approximated chance constraint optimization problem. In addition, a method is presented for sample-based approximation of the analytic gradients of the chance constraints, which increases the optimization efficiency significantly. The proposed stochastic nonlinear model predictive control approach is applicable to a broad class of nonlinear systems with the sufficient condition that each term is analytic with respect to the states, and separable with respect to the inputs, states and parameters. The closed-loop performance of the proposed approach is evaluated using the Williams-Otto reactor with seven states, and ten uncertain parameters and initial conditions. The results demonstrate the efficiency of the approach for real-time stochastic model predictive control and its capability to systematically account for probabilistic uncertainties in contrast to a nonlinear model predictive control approaches.

math.OC↗