Accurate Real-Time Localization Estimation in Underground Mine Environments Based on a Distance-Weight Map (DWM).

Zhuli Ren,Liguan Wang

doi:10.3390/s22041463

Abstract

The precise localization of an underground mine environment is key to achieving unmanned and intelligent underground mining. However, in an underground environment, GPS is unavailable, there are variable and often poor lighting conditions, there is visual aliasing in long tunnels, and the occurrence of airborne dust and water, presenting great difficulty for localization. We demonstrate a high-precision, real-time, without-infrastructure underground localization method based on 3D LIDAR. The underground mine environment map was constructed based on GICP-SLAM, and inverse distance weighting (IDW) was first proposed to implement error correction based on point cloud mapping called a distance-weight map (DWM). The map was used for the localization of the underground mine environment for the first time. The approach combines point cloud frames matching and DWM matching in an unscented Kalman filter fusion process. Finally, the localization method was tested in four underground scenes, where a spatial localization error of 4 cm and 60 ms processing time per frame were obtained. We also analyze the impact of the initial pose and point cloud segmentation with respect to localization accuracy. The results showed that this new algorithm can realize low-drift, real-time localization in an underground mine environment.

Highlights

Our results show that the underground mine environmental localization framework based on the distance-weight map (DWM) has wider applicability
We presented a high-precision, real-time, without-infrastructure underground localization method based on 3D LIDAR, which constructs a distance-weight map (DWM) using inverse distance weighting (IDW) and provides a robust estimate of the trajectories of underground mining equipment
We proposed a high-precision localization system based on 3D LIDAR to operate with the complex conditions found within the underground mine environment

Summary

Introduction

Intelligent mining is a development trend and the inevitable choice of mines. All factors point the development of mining enterprises in the direction of intelligent construction, including the safety and efficiency problems of traditional mining, the intelligent upgrading requirements of traditional industries, the market problem of difficult employment in mines, and the rapid development of intelligent technology. One of the main contents of intelligent mining in underground mines is the intelligence of mining equipment. The precise positioning of equipment is the premise of intelligent mining equipment, such as autonomous driving of underground mining equipment, loading and unloading operation, and automatic control of the position of drilling equipment. Research on highprecision localization technology for underground, confined closed spaces is crucial for the realization of underground intelligent mining

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion