A method for image-based vehicle localization includes measuring, at a vehicle, a position and a heading of the vehicle; capturing, at an image capture system of the vehicle, road surface image data of a road surface; processing the road surface image data to correct for distortion in the road surface image data due to pitch and roll of the vehicle; performing feature detection on the processed road surface image data to detect lane markers on the road surface; generating a local map based on the detected lane markers; wherein generating the local map comprises identifying a lane demarcated by the detected lane markers; and controlling the vehicle according to the local map.