SYSTEM AND METHOD OF FEATURE MATCHING FOR ASSOCIATING VEHICLE PERCEPTION DATA

A method and system of feature matching for associating vehicle perception data for crowd sourcing map data. The system is configured to execute the method including the steps of receiving perception data from a plurality of vehicles; processing the perception data to identify first feature points observed by a first vehicle and second feature points observed by a second vehicle, respectively; creating feature descriptors using multilayer bitmaps for each of the first feature points and for each of the second feature points; determining pairs of matching first and second feature points by comparing histograms of the feature descriptors; associating pairs of matching first and second feature points; updating a map database with the associated pairs of matching first and second feature points; and operating an autonomous vehicle based on the updated map database.