Calibration method for multiple 2D LIDARs system

Many robotic and mobile mapping systems have been developed using multiple 2D LIDARs (briefly multi-LIDAR system) to sense environment. In such systems, extrinsic calibration of all LIDARs is essential for making collaborative use of the data from different sensors. This research aims at developing a calibration method for multi-LIDAR systems at the general scene, such as an outdoor place or an underground parking-lot, without modification to environment by putting calibration targets. In this paper, the calibration method is proposed by aligning the 3D data of different LIDARs. They are concerned at two-levels: 1) reference calibration, i. e. finding the transformation from a reference LIDAR to the platform frame; 2) multi-LIDAR calibration, i. e. finding the LIDARs' relative geometries by referring to the reference one. The method is examined in calibrating the multiple 2D LIDARs on an intelligent vehicle platform POSS-V, where the data collected through a driving in an underground parking-lot are registered to find sensors' geometry. Calibration accuracy is examined by comparing with a CAD model of the scene, which was measured by using a total station.

Authors

• Mengwen He
• Huijing Zhao
• Jinshi Cui
• Hongbin Zha

Keywords

• Laser radar
• Calibration
• Three-dimensional displays
• Optimization
• Feature extraction
• Simultaneous localization and mapping
• Systematic Method
• Calibration Method
• Multiple LiDAR
• Calibration Reference
• Total Station
• Calibration Target
• Parking Garage
• Relative Geometry
• Outdoor Places
• Global Level
• Sensor Data
• Rotation Angle
• Geometric Features
• Transformation Matrix
• Specific Facility
• Test Area
• 3D Point
• 3D Point Cloud
• Sequential Stages
• Calibration Results
• Multiple Calibration
• Planar Features
• Straight Path
• Scanning Plane
• Previous Work Of The Authors
• Term In Formula
• Existence Of Errors