Thorsten Luettel
Papers
13
Total Citations
389
H-Index
8
About
Thorsten Luettel is a leading researcher in autonomous ground robotics, with a primary focus on LIDAR-based 3D perception, off-road navigation, and sensor fusion for unstructured environments. His foundational work on real-time object classification in 3D point clouds using point feature histograms (130 citations) and LIDAR-based 3D object perception (107 citations) established robust perception systems for autonomous vehicles, demonstrated through his team’s platform, MuCAR-3. Luettel’s contributions extend to autonomous off-road navigation, GIS-based topological localization, and road network detection by fusing vision and LIDAR, enabling reliable operation in GPS-denied or rural terrains. Notably, his team’s MuCAR vehicle won the convoy scenario at ELROB 2016, showcasing practical deployment of multi-sensor data fusion. More recently, he has advanced the field with the GOOSE dataset (27 citations) and GOOSE-Ex dataset for semantic segmentation in unstructured outdoor environments, addressing critical data scarcity for deep learning in robotics. With over 380 cumulative citations across his most-cited works, Luettel’s research bridges perception, localization, and navigation, driving autonomous systems toward real-world deployment in challenging, unstructured settings.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2LIDAR-based 3D Object Perception107 citations · 2008
- 3Autonomous Off-Road Navigation for MuCAR-334 citations · 2011
- 4GIS-based topological robot localization through LIDAR crossroad detection30 citations · 2011
- 5The GOOSE Dataset for Perception in Unstructured Environments27 citations · 2024
- 6
- 7How MuCAR won the convoy scenario at ELROB 201610 citations · 2017
- 8Fusing LIDAR and Vision for Autonomous Dirt Road Following10 citations · 2009
- 9Combining multiple robot behaviors for complex off-road missions7 citations · 2011
- 10Excavating in the Wild: The GOOSE-Ex Dataset for Semantic Segmentation4 citations · 2025