Toward Underground Localization: Lidar Inertial Odometry Enabled Aerial Robot Navigation
This addresses localization for UAVs in underground settings, but it is incremental as it compares existing methods without introducing new techniques.
The paper tackled localization for UAVs in GPS-denied environments like tunnels by comparing three LiDAR-based SLAM algorithms (Hector SLAM, Gmapping, Cartographer) using a low-cost 2D LiDAR, single-axis LiDAR, and IMU, with results validated against ground truth data in real-world experiments.
Localization can be achieved by different sensors and techniques such as a global positioning system (GPS), wifi, ultrasonic sensors, and cameras. In this paper, we focus on the laser-based localization method for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications in a GPS denied environment such as a deep tunnel system. Other than a low-cost 2D LiDAR for the planar axes, a single axis Lidar for the vertical axis as well as an inertial measurement unit (IMU) device is used to increase the reliability and accuracy of the localization performance. We present a comparative analysis of the three selected laser-based simultaneous localization and mapping(SLAM) approaches:(i) Hector SLAM; (ii) Gmapping; and(iii) Cartographer. These algorithms have been implemented and tested through real-world experiments. The results are compared with the ground truth data and the experiments are available at https://youtu.be/kQc3mJjw_mw.