Inertial Measurement Unit Data Research Articles

3D Indoor Position Estimation Based on a UDU Factorization Extended Kalman Filter Structure Using Beacon Distance and Inertial Measurement Unit Data

The development of the GPS (Global Positioning System) and related advances have made it possible to conceive of an outdoor positioning system with great accuracy; however, for indoor positioning, more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective technology is required. There are a variety of techniques utilized for indoor positioning, such as those that are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, infrared, ultrasound, magnetic, and visual-marker-based. This work aims to design an accurate position estimation algorithm by combining raw distance data from ultrasonic sensors (Marvelmind Beacon) and acceleration data from an inertial measurement unit (IMU), utilizing the extended Kalman filter (EKF) with UDU factorization (expressed as the product of a triangular, a diagonal, and the transpose of the triangular matrix) approach. Initially, a position estimate is calculated through the use of a recursive least squares (RLS) method with a trilateration algorithm, utilizing raw distance data. This solution is then combined with acceleration data collected from the Marvelmind sensor, resulting in a position solution akin to that of the GPS. The data were initially collected via the ROS (Robot Operating System) platform and then via the Pixhawk development card, with tests conducted using a combination of four fixed and one moving Marvelmind sensors, as well as three fixed and one moving sensors. The designed algorithm is found to produce accurate results for position estimation, and is subsequently implemented on an embedded development card (Pixhawk). The tests showed that the designed algorithm gives accurate results with centimeter precision. Furthermore, test results have shown that the UDU-EKF structure integrated into the embedded system is faster than the classical EKF.

L-PCM: Localization and Point Cloud Registration-Based Method for Pose Calibration of Mobile Robots

The autonomous navigation of mobile robots contains three parts: map building, global localization, and path planning. Precise pose data directly affect the accuracy of global localization. However, the cumulative error problems of sensors and various estimation strategies cause the pose to have a large gap in data accuracy. To address these problems, this paper proposes a pose calibration method based on localization and point cloud registration, which is called L-PCM. Firstly, the method obtains the odometer and IMU (inertial measurement unit) data through the sensors mounted on the mobile robot and uses the UKF (unscented Kalman filter) algorithm to filter and fuse the odometer data and IMU data to obtain the estimated pose of the mobile robot. Secondly, the AMCL (adaptive Monte Carlo localization) is improved by combining the UKF fusion model of the IMU and odometer to obtain the modified global initial pose of the mobile robot. Finally, PL-ICP (point to line-iterative closest point) point cloud registration is used to calibrate the modified global initial pose to obtain the global pose of the mobile robot. Through simulation experiments, it is verified that the UKF fusion algorithm can reduce the influence of cumulative errors and the improved AMCL algorithm can optimize the pose trajectory. The average value of the position error is about 0.0447 m, and the average value of the angle error is stabilized at about 0.0049 degrees. Meanwhile, it has been verified that the L-PCM is significantly better than the existing AMCL algorithm, with a position error of about 0.01726 m and an average angle error of about 0.00302 degrees, effectively improving the accuracy of the pose.

Effects of static exercises on hip muscle fatigue and knee wobble assessed by surface electromyography and inertial measurement unit data

Hip muscle weakness can be a precursor to or a result of lower limb injuries. Assessment of hip muscle strength and muscle motor fatigue in the clinic is important for diagnosing and treating hip-related impairments. Muscle motor fatigue can be assessed with surface electromyography (sEMG), however sEMG requires specialized equipment and training. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) are wearable devices used to measure human motion, yet it remains unclear if they can be used as a low-cost alternative method to measure hip muscle fatigue. The goals of this work were to (1) identify which of five pre-selected exercises most consistently and effectively elicited muscle fatigue in the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and rectus femoris muscles and (2) determine the relationship between muscle fatigue using sEMG sensors and knee wobble using an IMU device. This work suggests that a wall sit and single leg knee raise activity fatigue the gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, and rectus femoris muscles most reliably (p < 0.05) and that the gluteus medius and gluteus maximus muscles were fatigued to a greater extent than the rectus femoris (p = 0.031 and p = 0.0023, respectively). Additionally, while acceleration data from a single IMU placed on the knee suggested that more knee wobble may be an indicator of muscle fatigue, this single IMU is not capable of reliably assessing fatigue level. These results suggest the wall sit activity could be used as simple, static exercise to elicit hip muscle fatigue in the clinic, and that assessment of knee wobble in addition to other IMU measures could potentially be used to infer muscle fatigue under controlled conditions. Future work examining the relationship between IMU data, muscle fatigue, and multi-limb dynamics should be explored to develop an accessible, low-cost, fast and standardized method to measure fatiguability of the hip muscles in the clinic.

A comprehensive dataset on biomechanics and motor control during human walking with discrete mechanical perturbations.

Humans have a remarkable capability to maintain balance while walking. There is, however, a lack of publicly available research data on reactive responses to destabilizing perturbations during gait. Here, we share a comprehensive dataset collected from 10 participants who experienced random perturbations while walking on an instrumented treadmill. Each participant performed six 5-min walking trials at a rate of 1.2 m/s, during which rapid belt speed perturbations could occur during the participant's stance phase. Each gait cycle had a 17% probability of being perturbed. The perturbations consisted of an increase of belt speed by 0.75 m/s, delivered with equal probability at 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, or 80% of the stance phase. Data were recorded using motion capture with 25 markers, eight inertial measurement units (IMUs), and electromyography (EMG) from the tibialis anterior (TA), soleus (SOL), lateral gastrocnemius (LG), rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), biceps femoris (BF), and gluteus maximus (GM). The full protocol is described in detail. We provide marker trajectories, force plate data, EMG data, and belt speed information for all trials and participants. IMU data is provided for most participants. This data can be useful for identifying neural feedback control in human gait, biologically inspired control systems for robots, and the development of clinical applications.

Spring-Damped Underactuated Swashplateless Rotor on a Bicopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

The stabilisation capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with bicopter underactuated swashplateless rotors are highly sensitive to motor-induced vibration. Due to the requirement of the active control of underactuated swashplateless rotors, conventional designs are limited in reducing vibration through control optimisation. A solution with customized passive spring-damping structures on a unique underactuated swashplateless rotor of a tiltrotor bicopter platform is presented. The implementation of this structure effectively reduces the self-coherent vibration in flights. As a result, a higher level of control authority has been achieved without setting excessive low-pass filtering for vibration. Experimentally obtained inertial measurement unit (IMU) data, rotor speed, rotor tilt angle, and the cyclic stator response are presented for comparison with Simulink model predictions.

Behavior classification and spatiotemporal analysis of grazing sheep using deep learning

Monitoring multiple behavioral patterns and grazing trajectories of individual sheep can provide valuable information for various aspects of livestock production. The emergence of low-cost miniature sensors, coupled with the continuous advancement of deep learning technologies, has ushered in a new generation of intelligent solutions for precision livestock farming. This study aims to explore the deployment methods of motion sensors, selection of data collection frequencies, and choice of deep learning algorithms to provide accurate classification of multiple behaviors in grazing sheep. Based on this, in conjunction with the acquired location information, the goal is to comprehend the spatiotemporal distribution of grazing sheep behaviors. Devices capable of collecting Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and location data were attached to the jaw, neck, and hind leg of sheep. Four datasets were created using IMU data with a frequency of 20 Hz and a 5 s time window from different positions (neck, neck & leg, jaw, jaw & leg). Two deep learning models, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) - Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) and Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN)-Transformer, were employed to classify six grazing sheep behaviors: walking, standing, grazing, lying, standing-ruminating, and lying-ruminating. The results indicate that by fusing data from the neck- and leg-mounted devices and utilizing the CNN-LSTM model, the accuracy reached the highest at 99.3 %. Furthermore, a comparison was made regarding the behavior classification accuracy of this fused data at different IMU data frequencies (20, 10, 5, and 1 Hz). It was found that even when the data frequency was reduced to 1 Hz, the classification accuracy for the six sheep behaviors still exceeded 96 %. Additionally, the trained model with the highest accuracy was applied to monitoring grazing sheep behavior under two different management procedures. Further analysis of the time budgets of sheep behavior revealed differences in the durations of behaviors under different management procedures. For extensively grazing sheep, location information was also monitored and combined with behavior classification results to generate the spatiotemporal distribution of sheep behavior. The technologies presented are important for gaining further insights into the health status of grazing livestock and grassland, thereby enhancing grazing management practices by informing grazing choices and optimizing grassland utilization.

PAL-SLAM2: Visual and visual–inertial monocular SLAM for panoramic annular lens

This paper presents PAL-SLAM2, a visual and visual–inertial monocular simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system for a panoramic annular lens (PAL) with an ultra-hemispherical field of view (FoV), overcoming the limitations of traditional frameworks in handling fast turns, nighttime conditions and rapid lighting changes. The system incorporates modules for initialization, tracking, local mapping, loop and map merging. To fully exploit information from the negative space (z<0), keypoints are projected onto the unit sphere for visual initialization and tightly-coupled visual–inertial optimization. Leveraging a multimap strategy, the feature-based PAL-SLAM2 is capable of detecting unidirectional and bidirectional public areas using PAL images, thereby enhancing the performance of loop correction and map merging. Testing indicates that it achieves an average accuracy of 7.1 cm on the PALVIO indoor dataset, surpassing similar state-of-the-art frameworks. Furthermore, we have collected a large-scale dataset comprising over 120,000 images with corresponding inertial measurement unit (IMU) data, demonstrating PAL-SLAM2’s robustness under challenging outdoor conditions. Relying solely on visual and inertial inputs, our system is particularly suited for environments where Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals are frequently obstructed, such as indoor spaces or dense urban areas. The dataset can be accessed at: https://github.com/wwendy233/Plaza-Dataset.

Development and evaluation of the ARM algorithm: A novel approach to quantify musculoskeletal disorder risk factors in manual wheelchair users in the real world.

This study aimed to develop and evaluate the ARM (arm repetitive movement) algorithm using inertial measurement unit (IMU) data to assess repetitive arm motion in manual wheelchair (MWC) users in real-world settings. The algorithm was tested on community data from four MWC users with spinal cord injury and compared with video-based analysis. Additionally, the algorithm was applied to in-home and free-living environment data from two and sixteen MWC users, respectively, to assess its utility in quantifying differences across activities of daily living and between dominant and non-dominant arms. The ARM algorithm accurately estimated active and resting times (>98%) in the community and confirmed asymmetries between dominant and non-dominant arm usage in in-home and free-living environment data. Analysis of free-living environment data revealed that the total resting bout time was significantly longer (P = 0.049) and total active bout time was significantly shorter (P = 0.011) for the non-dominant arm. Analysis of active bouts longer than 10 seconds showed higher total time (P = 0.015), average duration (P = 0.026), and number of movement cycles per bout (P = 0.020) for the dominant side. These findings support the feasibility of using the IMU-based ARM algorithm to assess repetitive arm motion and monitor shoulder disorder risk factors in MWC users during daily activities.

VR interactive input system based on INS and binocular vision fusion

In virtual reality interactive input systems, real-time and accurate spatial position and pose measurement is key to achieving a natural user interface. This study explores the application of inertial measurement units and binocular vision fusion technology in virtual reality interactive input systems, with the aim of improving the tracking accuracy of the system through optimized pose models and visual algorithms. A virtual reality measurement technology that integrates inertial measurement units and binocular vision is proposed by using an improved Kalman filtering algorithm to process inertial measurement units data, and combining it with the SURF algorithm optimized binocular vision system. Experimental results showed that fusion technology could reduce sensor noise and bias, improve the accuracy of pose estimation, and promote stable and robust motion tracking in virtual reality systems. In the angle range of -90 ° to 90 °, the average absolute error of the fusion system compared to the simple inertial measurement units pose calculation decreased from 3.371 ° to 1.369 ° In the experiment of measuring distance with a binocular vision system, the average absolute error value decreased to 1.532 mm, and the error range of the marker within the distance range of 500 mm to 650 mm was controlled within -1.3 mm to 1.2 mm. This study provides an effective solution for achieving high-precision virtual reality interactive input systems and is meaningful for the advancement of virtual reality technology.

Estimation of lower back muscle force in a lifting task using wearable IMUs

Low back pain is commonly reported in occupational settings due to factors such as heavy lifting and poor ergonomic practices, often resulting in significant healthcare expenses and lowered productivity. Assessment tools for human motion and ergonomic risk at the workplace are still limited. Therefore, this study aimed to assess lower back muscle and joint reaction forces in laboratory conditions using wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) during weight lifting, a frequently high-risk workplace task. Ten able-bodied participants were instructed to lift a 28 lbs. box while surface electromyography sensors, IMUs, and a camera-based motion capture system recorded their muscle activity and body motion. The data recorded by IMUs and motion capture system were used to estimate lower back muscle and joint reaction forces via musculoskeletal modeling. Lower back muscle patterns matched well with electromyography recordings. The normalized mean absolute differences between muscle forces estimated based on measurements of IMUs and cameras were less than 25 %, and the statistical parametric mapping results indicated no significant difference between the forces estimated by both systems. However, abrupt changes in motion, such as lifting initiation, led to significant differences (p < 0.05) between the muscle forces. Furthermore, the maximum L5-S1 joint reaction force estimated using IMU data was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than those estimated by cameras during weight lifting and lowering. The study showed how kinematic errors from IMUs propagated through the musculoskeletal model and affected the estimations of muscle forces and joint reaction forces. Our findings showed the potential of IMUs for in-field ergonomic risk evaluations.

LIFNS: Design of a novel Lidar-IMU fusion navigation system for AGVs in smart factories

Traditional Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) robots commonly employ 2D plane navigation systems. However, with the expansion of AGV application scenarios and the increasing complexity of structures, the limitations of existing 2D navigation systems have become more pronounced, rendering them inadequate for addressing these challenges. To tackle this issue, this paper proposes a novel navigation system suitable for AGV robots composed of fused Lidar and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), named as Lidar-IMU Fusion Navigation System (LIFNS). LIFNS primarily comprises mapping, localization, and fused path planning modules. In the mapping module, a 3D point cloud map for precise 3D localization and a 2D grid map for path planning are constructed using multiple-line Lidar and IMU. For the localization module, a fusion localization approach is introduced, combining IMU data with Normal Distributions Transform (NDT) point cloud registration through Unscented Kalman Filtering (UKF). Finally, global path planning is executed using the A* algorithm on the grid map, while local path planning utilizes the Timed-Elastic Band (TEB) algorithm. The effectiveness and universality of LIFNS are validated through simulation experiments and real-world deployment tests. The experimental results demonstrate that LIFNS achieves centimeter-level accuracy in both mapping and localization, effectively alleviating the issues of low precision and significant limitations present in traditional AGV robots. This positions LIFNS with promising applications in enclosed settings such as smart factories, industrial parks, and healthcare facilities.

Spatial-Related Sensors Matters: 3D Human Motion Reconstruction Assisted with Textual Semantics

Leveraging wearable devices for motion reconstruction has emerged as an economical and viable technique. Certain methodologies employ sparse Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) on the human body and harness data-driven strategies to model human poses. However, the reconstruction of motion based solely on sparse IMU data is inherently fraught with ambiguity, a consequence of numerous identical IMU readings corresponding to different poses. In this paper, we explore the spatial importance of sparse sensors, supervised by text that describes specific actions. Specifically, uncertainty is introduced to derive weighted features for each IMU. We also design a Hierarchical Temporal Transformer (HTT) and apply contrastive learning to achieve precise temporal and feature alignment of sensor data with textual semantics. Experimental results demonstrate our proposed approach achieves significant improvements in multiple metrics compared to existing methods. Notably, with textual supervision, our method not only differentiates between ambiguous actions such as sitting and standing but also produces more precise and natural motion.

3D gait analysis in children using wearable sensors: feasibility of predicting joint kinematics and kinetics with personalized machine learning models and inertial measurement units.

Introduction: Children's walking patterns evolve with age, exhibiting less repetitiveness at a young age and more variability than adults. Three-dimensional gait analysis (3DGA) is crucial for understanding and treating lower limb movement disorders in children, traditionally performed using Optical Motion Capture (OMC). Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) offer a cost-effective alternative to OMC, although challenges like drift errors persist. Machine learning (ML) models can mitigate these issues in adults, prompting an investigation into their applicability to a heterogeneous pediatric population. This study aimed at 1) quantifying personalized and generalized ML models' performance for predicting gait time series in typically developed (TD) children using IMUs data, 2) Comparing random forest (RF) and convolutional neural networks (CNN) models' performance, 3) Finding the optimal number of IMUs required for accurate predictions. Methodology: Seventeen TD children, aged 6 to 15, participated in data collection involving OMC, force plates, and IMU sensors. Joint kinematics and kinetics (targets) were computed from OMC and force plates' data using OpenSim. Tsfresh, a Python package, extracted features from raw IMU data. Each target's ten most important features were input in the development of personalized and generalized RF and CNN models. This procedure was initially conducted with 7 IMUs placed on all lower limb segments and then performed using only two IMUs on the feet. Results: Findings suggested that the RF and CNN models demonstrated comparable performance. RF predicted joint kinematics with a 9.5% and 19.9% NRMSE for personalized and generalized models, respectively, and joint kinetics with an NRMSE of 10.7% for personalized and 15.2% for generalized models in TD children. Personalized models provided accurate estimations from IMU data in children, while generalized models lacked accuracy due to the limited dataset. Furthermore, reducing the number of IMUs from 7 to 2 did not affect the results, and the performance remained consistent. Discussion: This study proposed a promising personalized approach for gait time series prediction in children, involving an RF model and two IMUs on the feet.

Decoding of unimanual and bimanual reach-and-grasp actions from EMG and IMU signals in persons with cervical spinal cord injury.

Chronic motor impairments of arms and hands as the consequence of a&#xD;cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) have a tremendous impact on activities of daily life.&#xD;A considerable number of people however retain minimal voluntary motor control in the&#xD;paralyzed parts of the upper limbs that are measurable by electromyography (EMG)&#xD;and inertial measurement units (IMUs). An integration into human-machine interfaces&#xD;(HMIs) holds promise for reliable grasp intent detection and intuitive assistive device&#xD;control.&#xD;Approach: We used a multimodal HMI incorporating EMG and IMU data to decode&#xD;reach-and-grasp movements of groups of persons with cervical SCI (n=4) and without&#xD;(control, n=13). A post-hoc evaluation of control group data aimed to identify optimal&#xD;parameters for online, co-adaptive closed-loop HMI sessions with persons with cervical&#xD;SCI. We compared the performance of real-time, Random Forest-based movement&#xD;versus rest (2 classes) and grasp type predictors (3 classes) with respect to their coadaptation&#xD;and evaluated the underlying feature importance maps.&#xD;Main results: Our multimodal approach enabled grasp decoding significantly better&#xD;than EMG or IMU data alone (p<0.05). We found the 0.25 s directly prior to the first&#xD;touch of an object to hold the most discriminative information. Our HMIs correctly&#xD;predicted 79.3 ± STD 7.4 (102.7 ± STD 2.3 control group) out of 105 trials with&#xD;grand average movement vs. rest prediction accuracies above 99.64% (100% sensitivity)&#xD;and grasp prediction accuracies of 75.39 ± STD 13.77% (97.66 ± STD 5.48% control&#xD;group). Co-adaption led to higher prediction accuracies with time, and we could&#xD;identify adaptions in feature importances unique to each participant with cervical&#xD;SCI.&#xD;Significance: Our findings foster the development of multimodal and adaptive HMIs&#xD;to allow persons with cervical SCI the intuitive control of assistive devices to improve&#xD;personal independence.

Optimization of Torque-Control Model for Quasi-Direct-Drive Knee Exoskeleton Robots Based on Regression Forecasting.

The choice of torque curve in lower-limb enhanced exoskeleton robots is a key problem in the control of lower-limb exoskeleton robots. As a human-machine coupled system, mapping from sensor data to joint torque is complex and non-linear, making it difficult to accurately model using mathematical tools. In this research study, the knee torque data of an exoskeleton robot climbing up stairs were obtained using an optical motion-capture system and three-dimensional force-measuring tables, and the inertial measurement unit (IMU) data of the lower limbs of the exoskeleton robot were simultaneously collected. Nonlinear approximations can be learned using machine learning methods. In this research study, a multivariate network model combining CNN and LSTM was used for nonlinear regression forecasting, and a knee joint torque-control model was obtained. Due to delays in mechanical transmission, communication, and the bottom controller, the actual torque curve will lag behind the theoretical curve. In order to compensate for these delays, different time shifts of the torque curve were carried out in the model-training stage to produce different control models. The above model was applied to a lightweight knee exoskeleton robot. The performance of the exoskeleton robot was evaluated using surface electromyography (sEMG) experiments, and the effects of different time-shifting parameters on the performance were compared. During testing, the sEMG activity of the rectus femoris (RF) decreased by 20.87%, while the sEMG activity of the vastus medialis (VM) increased by 17.45%. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of this control model in assisting knee joints in climbing up stairs.

Robust human locomotion and localization activity recognition over multisensory.

Human activity recognition (HAR) plays a pivotal role in various domains, including healthcare, sports, robotics, and security. With the growing popularity of wearable devices, particularly Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) and Ambient sensors, researchers and engineers have sought to take advantage of these advances to accurately and efficiently detect and classify human activities. This research paper presents an advanced methodology for human activity and localization recognition, utilizing smartphone IMU, Ambient, GPS, and Audio sensor data from two public benchmark datasets: the Opportunity dataset and the Extrasensory dataset. The Opportunity dataset was collected from 12 subjects participating in a range of daily activities, and it captures data from various body-worn and object-associated sensors. The Extrasensory dataset features data from 60 participants, including thousands of data samples from smartphone and smartwatch sensors, labeled with a wide array of human activities. Our study incorporates novel feature extraction techniques for signal, GPS, and audio sensor data. Specifically, for localization, GPS, audio, and IMU sensors are utilized, while IMU and Ambient sensors are employed for locomotion activity recognition. To achieve accurate activity classification, state-of-the-art deep learning techniques, such as convolutional neural networks (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM), have been explored. For indoor/outdoor activities, CNNs are applied, while LSTMs are utilized for locomotion activity recognition. The proposed system has been evaluated using the k-fold cross-validation method, achieving accuracy rates of 97% and 89% for locomotion activity over the Opportunity and Extrasensory datasets, respectively, and 96% for indoor/outdoor activity over the Extrasensory dataset. These results highlight the efficiency of our methodology in accurately detecting various human activities, showing its potential for real-world applications. Moreover, the research paper introduces a hybrid system that combines machine learning and deep learning features, enhancing activity recognition performance by leveraging the strengths of both approaches.

A self-supervised monocular odometry with visual-inertial and depth representations

Background:Self-supervised monocular visual-odometry (VO) methods have demonstrated impressive results in relative pose estimation, but they encounter challenges when visual information is unreliable. To address this, we introduce a self-supervised visual-inertial odometry (VIO) system. Methods:Our method adopts a trinocular assumption, where three consecutive frames are treated as if captured simultaneously by three cameras. This approach expands the field of view and enhances robustness in visual constraints for 3D structures. Additionally, we incorporate Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data into the system. This integration, achieved by an attention-based fusion strategy, allows our visual-inertial odometry (VIO) system to adaptively select the most reliable representations for accurate relative pose estimation. Results:Experiments on public and self-collected datasets show that the proposed method is state-of-the-art in visual odometry. Conclusion:The encouraging results show that it is feasible to apply this learning-based VIO system in autonomous cars and robots.

Resilient Multi-Sensor UAV Navigation with a Hybrid Federated Fusion Architecture

Future UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) operations in urban environments demand a PNT (position, navigation, and timing) solution that is both robust and resilient. While a GNSS (global navigation satellite system) can provide an accurate position under open-sky assumptions, the complexity of urban operations leads to NLOS (non-line-of-sight) and multipath effects, which in turn impact the accuracy of the PNT data. A key research question within the research community pertains to determining the appropriate hybrid fusion architecture that can ensure the resilience and continuity of UAV operations in urban environments, minimizing significant degradations of PNT data. In this context, we present a novel federated fusion architecture that integrates data from the GNSS, the IMU (inertial measurement unit), a monocular camera, and a barometer to cope with the GNSS multipath and positioning performance degradation. Within the federated fusion architecture, local filters are implemented using EKFs (extended Kalman filters), while a master filter is used in the form of a GRU (gated recurrent unit) block. Data collection is performed by setting up a virtual environment in AirSim for the visual odometry aid and barometer data, while Spirent GSS7000 hardware is used to collect the GNSS and IMU data. The hybrid fusion architecture is compared to a classic federated architecture (formed only by EKFs) and tested under different light and weather conditions to assess its resilience, including multipath and GNSS outages. The proposed solution demonstrates improved resilience and robustness in a range of degraded conditions while maintaining a good level of positioning performance with a 95th percentile error of 0.54 m for the square scenario and 1.72 m for the survey scenario.

Advancing robust state estimation of wheeled robots in degenerate environments: harnessing ground manifold and motion states

State estimation is crucial for enabling autonomous mobility in mobile robots. However, traditional localization methods often falter in degraded environments, including issues like visual occlusion, lidar performance degradation, and global navigation satellite system signal interference. This paper presents a novel estimation approach for wheeled robots, exclusively utilizing proprioceptive sensors such as encoders and inertial measurement units (IMU). Initially, the motion manifolds extracted from the historical trajectories are used to assist the encoder in realizing the orientation estimation. Furthermore, a hybrid neural network is designed to categorize the robot’s operational state, and the corresponding pseudo-constraints are added to improve the estimation accuracy. We utilize an error state Kalman filter for the encoder and IMU data fusion. Lastly, comprehensive testing is conducted using both datasets and real-world robotic platforms. The findings underscore that the integration of manifold and motion constraints within our proposed state estimator substantially elevates accuracy compared to conventional approaches. Compare with the methods commonly used in engineering, the accuracy of this method is improved by more than 20%. Crucially, this methodology enables dependable estimation even in degraded environments.

A Novel Gait Event Detection Algorithm Using a Thigh-Worn Inertial Measurement Unit and Joint Angle Information.

This paper describes the development and evaluation of a novel, threshold-based gait event detection algorithm utilizing only one thigh inertial measurement unit (IMU) and unilateral, sagittal plane hip and knee joint angles. The algorithm was designed to detect heel strike (HS) and toe off (TO) gait events, with the eventual goal of detection in a real-time exoskeletal control system. The data used in the development and evaluation of the algorithm were obtained from two gait databases, each containing synchronized IMU and ground reaction force (GRF) data. All database subjects were healthy individuals walking in either a level-ground, urban environment or a treadmill lab environment. Inertial measurements used were three-dimensional thigh accelerations and three-dimensional thigh angular velocities. Parameters for the TO algorithm were identified on a per-subject basis. The GRF data were utilized to validate the algorithm's timing accuracy and quantify the fidelity of the algorithm, measured by the F1-Score. Across all participants, the algorithm reported a mean timing error of -41±20 ms with an F1-Score of 0.988 for HS. For TO, the algorithm reported a mean timing error of -1.4±21 ms with an F1-Score of 0.991. The results of this evaluation suggest that this algorithm is a promising solution to inertial based gait event detection; however, further refinement and real-time evaluation are required for use in exoskeletal control.