Regular Papers

International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems 2024; 22(2): 690-704

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-023-0026-2

© The International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems

A Comparative Field Study of Global Pose Estimation Algorithms in Subterranean Environments

Nikolaos Stathoulopoulos*, Anton Koval, and George Nikolakopoulos

Luleå University of Technology

Abstract

In this article, we perform a novel and extended field evaluation of the state-of-the-art algorithmic frameworks’ performance on global pose estimation. More specifically, we focus on relocalizing a mobile robot in a pre-built 3D point cloud map of a large subterranean environment. The evaluation is divided into two parts. The first part consists of multiple simulations performed in two different Gazebo SubT worlds, where one is flat with various types of features, while another has uneven structure and is more textured. The second part is an experimental evaluation and takes place in a real-world underground tunnel. In all evaluation tests, the robot’s pose is selected in such a way that we can test the robustness, as well as the feature extraction capability, of each algorithm. The evaluation is carried out using three ROS packages: a) hdl_global_localization using both BBS and FPFH+RANSAC, b) LIO-SAM_based_relocalization, and c) Fast-LIO-Localization. Our goal is to have a clear view of each algorithm’s efficiency in terms of CPU load, memory allocation and time to relocalize, while we increase the size of the map and transverse the robot in different parts of the map.

Keywords Field robotics, global pose estimation, robot relocalization, subterranean.

Article

Regular Papers

International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems 2024; 22(2): 690-704

Published online February 1, 2024 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-023-0026-2

Copyright © The International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems.

A Comparative Field Study of Global Pose Estimation Algorithms in Subterranean Environments

Nikolaos Stathoulopoulos*, Anton Koval, and George Nikolakopoulos

Luleå University of Technology

Abstract

In this article, we perform a novel and extended field evaluation of the state-of-the-art algorithmic frameworks’ performance on global pose estimation. More specifically, we focus on relocalizing a mobile robot in a pre-built 3D point cloud map of a large subterranean environment. The evaluation is divided into two parts. The first part consists of multiple simulations performed in two different Gazebo SubT worlds, where one is flat with various types of features, while another has uneven structure and is more textured. The second part is an experimental evaluation and takes place in a real-world underground tunnel. In all evaluation tests, the robot’s pose is selected in such a way that we can test the robustness, as well as the feature extraction capability, of each algorithm. The evaluation is carried out using three ROS packages: a) hdl_global_localization using both BBS and FPFH+RANSAC, b) LIO-SAM_based_relocalization, and c) Fast-LIO-Localization. Our goal is to have a clear view of each algorithm’s efficiency in terms of CPU load, memory allocation and time to relocalize, while we increase the size of the map and transverse the robot in different parts of the map.

Keywords: Field robotics, global pose estimation, robot relocalization, subterranean.

IJCAS
September 2024

Vol. 22, No. 9, pp. 2673~2953

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IJCAS

eISSN 2005-4092
pISSN 1598-6446