A LiDAR-Camera-Inertial-GNSS Apparatus for 3D Multimodal Dataset Collection in Woodland Scenarios
Forestry operations have become of great importance for a sustainable environment in the past few decades due to the increasing toll induced by rural abandonment and climate change. Robotics presents a promising solution to this problem; however, gathering the necessary data for developing and testi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/15/6676 |
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| author | Mário P. Cristóvão David Portugal Afonso E. Carvalho João Filipe Ferreira |
| author_facet | Mário P. Cristóvão David Portugal Afonso E. Carvalho João Filipe Ferreira |
| author_sort | Mário P. Cristóvão |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Forestry operations have become of great importance for a sustainable environment in the past few decades due to the increasing toll induced by rural abandonment and climate change. Robotics presents a promising solution to this problem; however, gathering the necessary data for developing and testing algorithms can be challenging. This work proposes a portable multi-sensor apparatus to collect relevant data generated by several onboard sensors. The system incorporates Laser Imaging, Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), two stereo depth cameras and a dedicated inertial measurement unit (IMU) to obtain environmental data, which are coupled with an Android app that extracts Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) information from a cell phone. Acquired data can then be used for a myriad of perception-based applications, such as localization and mapping, flammable material identification, traversability analysis, path planning and/or semantic segmentation toward (semi-)automated forestry actuation. The modular architecture proposed is built on Robot Operating System (ROS) and Docker to facilitate data collection and the upgradability of the system. We validate the apparatus’ effectiveness in collecting datasets and its flexibility by carrying out a case study for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) in a challenging woodland environment, thus allowing us to compare fundamentally different methods with the multimodal system proposed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:17:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dee11449ee824a229efe2f275830a05a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:17:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-dee11449ee824a229efe2f275830a05a2023-11-18T23:32:59ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-07-012315667610.3390/s23156676A LiDAR-Camera-Inertial-GNSS Apparatus for 3D Multimodal Dataset Collection in Woodland ScenariosMário P. Cristóvão0David Portugal1Afonso E. Carvalho 2João Filipe Ferreira 3Institute of Systems and Robotics, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computers, University of Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra, PortugalInstitute of Systems and Robotics, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computers, University of Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra, PortugalInstitute of Systems and Robotics, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computers, University of Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra, PortugalInstitute of Systems and Robotics, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computers, University of Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra, PortugalForestry operations have become of great importance for a sustainable environment in the past few decades due to the increasing toll induced by rural abandonment and climate change. Robotics presents a promising solution to this problem; however, gathering the necessary data for developing and testing algorithms can be challenging. This work proposes a portable multi-sensor apparatus to collect relevant data generated by several onboard sensors. The system incorporates Laser Imaging, Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), two stereo depth cameras and a dedicated inertial measurement unit (IMU) to obtain environmental data, which are coupled with an Android app that extracts Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) information from a cell phone. Acquired data can then be used for a myriad of perception-based applications, such as localization and mapping, flammable material identification, traversability analysis, path planning and/or semantic segmentation toward (semi-)automated forestry actuation. The modular architecture proposed is built on Robot Operating System (ROS) and Docker to facilitate data collection and the upgradability of the system. We validate the apparatus’ effectiveness in collecting datasets and its flexibility by carrying out a case study for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) in a challenging woodland environment, thus allowing us to compare fundamentally different methods with the multimodal system proposed.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/15/6676multi-sensor apparatusmultimodal dataset collectionforestry roboticsLiDARinertial measurement unitdepth cameras |
| spellingShingle | Mário P. Cristóvão David Portugal Afonso E. Carvalho João Filipe Ferreira A LiDAR-Camera-Inertial-GNSS Apparatus for 3D Multimodal Dataset Collection in Woodland Scenarios Sensors multi-sensor apparatus multimodal dataset collection forestry robotics LiDAR inertial measurement unit depth cameras |
| title | A LiDAR-Camera-Inertial-GNSS Apparatus for 3D Multimodal Dataset Collection in Woodland Scenarios |
| title_full | A LiDAR-Camera-Inertial-GNSS Apparatus for 3D Multimodal Dataset Collection in Woodland Scenarios |
| title_fullStr | A LiDAR-Camera-Inertial-GNSS Apparatus for 3D Multimodal Dataset Collection in Woodland Scenarios |
| title_full_unstemmed | A LiDAR-Camera-Inertial-GNSS Apparatus for 3D Multimodal Dataset Collection in Woodland Scenarios |
| title_short | A LiDAR-Camera-Inertial-GNSS Apparatus for 3D Multimodal Dataset Collection in Woodland Scenarios |
| title_sort | lidar camera inertial gnss apparatus for 3d multimodal dataset collection in woodland scenarios |
| topic | multi-sensor apparatus multimodal dataset collection forestry robotics LiDAR inertial measurement unit depth cameras |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/15/6676 |
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