Autonomous Navigation in Inclement Weather based on a Localizing Ground Penetrating Radar
Most autonomous driving solutions require some method of localization within their environment. Typically, onboard sensors are used to localize the vehicle precisely in a previously recorded map. However, these solutions are sensitive to ambient lighting conditions such as darkness and inclement wea...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/136654 |
| _version_ | 1811085354897244160 |
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| author | Ort, Teddy Gilitschenski, Igor Rus, Daniela |
| author2 | Lincoln Laboratory |
| author_facet | Lincoln Laboratory Ort, Teddy Gilitschenski, Igor Rus, Daniela |
| author_sort | Ort, Teddy |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Most autonomous driving solutions require some method of localization within their environment. Typically, onboard sensors are used to localize the vehicle precisely in a previously recorded map. However, these solutions are sensitive to ambient lighting conditions such as darkness and inclement weather. Additionally, the maps can become outdated in a rapidly changing environment and require continuous updating. While LiDAR systems don't require visible light, they are sensitive to weather such as fog or snow, which can interfere with localization. In this letter, we utilize a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to obtain precise vehicle localization. By mapping and localizing using features beneath the ground, we obtain features that are both stable over time, and maintain their appearance during changing ambient weather and lighting conditions. We incorporate this solution into a full-scale autonomous vehicle and evaluate the performance on over 17 km of testing data in a variety of challenging weather conditions. We find that this novel sensing modality is capable of providing precise localization for autonomous navigation without using cameras or LiDAR sensors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:08:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/136654 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:08:18Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1366542023-03-15T20:13:11Z Autonomous Navigation in Inclement Weather based on a Localizing Ground Penetrating Radar Ort, Teddy Gilitschenski, Igor Rus, Daniela Lincoln Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Most autonomous driving solutions require some method of localization within their environment. Typically, onboard sensors are used to localize the vehicle precisely in a previously recorded map. However, these solutions are sensitive to ambient lighting conditions such as darkness and inclement weather. Additionally, the maps can become outdated in a rapidly changing environment and require continuous updating. While LiDAR systems don't require visible light, they are sensitive to weather such as fog or snow, which can interfere with localization. In this letter, we utilize a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to obtain precise vehicle localization. By mapping and localizing using features beneath the ground, we obtain features that are both stable over time, and maintain their appearance during changing ambient weather and lighting conditions. We incorporate this solution into a full-scale autonomous vehicle and evaluate the performance on over 17 km of testing data in a variety of challenging weather conditions. We find that this novel sensing modality is capable of providing precise localization for autonomous navigation without using cameras or LiDAR sensors. 2021-10-27T20:36:27Z 2021-10-27T20:36:27Z 2020 2021-04-12T16:33:15Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/136654 en 10.1109/LRA.2020.2976310 IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) IEEE |
| spellingShingle | Ort, Teddy Gilitschenski, Igor Rus, Daniela Autonomous Navigation in Inclement Weather based on a Localizing Ground Penetrating Radar |
| title | Autonomous Navigation in Inclement Weather based on a Localizing Ground Penetrating Radar |
| title_full | Autonomous Navigation in Inclement Weather based on a Localizing Ground Penetrating Radar |
| title_fullStr | Autonomous Navigation in Inclement Weather based on a Localizing Ground Penetrating Radar |
| title_full_unstemmed | Autonomous Navigation in Inclement Weather based on a Localizing Ground Penetrating Radar |
| title_short | Autonomous Navigation in Inclement Weather based on a Localizing Ground Penetrating Radar |
| title_sort | autonomous navigation in inclement weather based on a localizing ground penetrating radar |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/136654 |
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