3D Mapping Based on Fusion of 2D Laser and IMU Data Acquired by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Abstract

The paper deals with the three-dimensional (3D) modelling based on data acquired from 2D laser sensor and IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) attached to the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). The used multi-sensor unit produces 2D scans and provides information about Euler angles or quaternions. These angles are used to describe the UAV orientation in 3D space, more precisely the orientation of the laser sensor. In order to generate 3D occupancy map it is necessary to rotate the laser sensor around its axis yielding the 2D scans being mapped on 3D space using quaternions. Inertial sensor and Sweep LiDAR laser measurements are transmitted to the single board computer Odroid XU4 (SBC). The data fusion was performed under ROS (Robot Operating System) installed on the SBC, producing 3D space points. These points are transmitted over the network to the central computer on which the UAV localization and mapping processes are done within the ROS. The effectiveness of the proposed system for 3D modelling of the UAV environment is verified by experiment.