Uncertainty-Based Vibration/Gyro Composite Planetary Terrain Mapping

Sensors (Basel). 2019 Jun 13;19(12):2681. doi: 10.3390/s19122681.

Abstract

Accurate perception of the detected terrain is a precondition for the planetary rover to perform its own mission. However, terrain measurement based on vision and LIDAR is subject to environmental changes such as strong illumination and dust storms. In this paper, considering the influence of uncertainty in the detection process, a vibration/gyro coupled terrain estimation method based on multipoint ranging information is proposed. The terrain update model is derived by analyzing the measurement uncertainty and motion uncertainty. Combined with Clearpath Jackal unmanned vehicle-the terrain mapping accuracy test based on ROS (Robot Operating System) simulation environment-indoor Optitrack auxiliary environment and outdoor soil environment was completed. The results show that the proposed algorithm has high reconstruction ability for a given scale terrain. The reconstruction accuracy in the above test environments is within 1 cm, 2 cm, and 6 cm, respectively.

Keywords: field test; measurement uncertainty; motion uncertainty; planetary rover; terrain mapping; vibration/gyro.