Map matching by using inertial sensors: literature review

This literature review aims to clarify what is known about map matching by using inertial sensors and what are the requirements for map matching, inertial sensors, placement and possible complementary position technology. The target is to develop a wearable location system that can position itself within a complex construction environment automatically with the aid of an accurate building model. The wearable location system should work on a tablet computer which is running an augmented reality (AR) solution and is capable of track and visualize 3D-CAD models in real environment. The wearable location system is needed to support the system in initialization of the accurate camera pose calculation and automatically finding the right location in the 3D-CAD model. One type of sensor which does seem applicable to people tracking is inertial measurement unit (IMU). The IMU sensors in aerospace applications, based on laser based gyroscopes, are big but provide a very accurate position estimation with a limited drift. Small and light units such as those based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical (MEMS) sensors are becoming very popular, but they have a significant bias and therefore suffer from large drifts and require method for calibration like map matching. The system requires very little fixed infrastructure, the monetary cost is proportional to the number of users, rather than to the coverage area as is the case for traditional absolute indoor location systems.Siirretty Doriast

FootSLAM meets adaptive thresholding

The is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from IEEE via the DOI in this recordCalibration of the zero-velocity detection threshold is an essential prerequisite for zero-velocity-aided inertial navigation. However, the literature is lacking a self-contained calibration method, suitable for large-scale use in unprepared environments without map information or pre-deployed infrastructure. In this paper, the calibration of the zero-velocity detection threshold is formulated as a maximum likelihood problem. The likelihood function is approximated using estimation quantities readily available from the FootSLAM algorithm. Thus, we obtain a method for adaptive thresholding that does not require map information, measurements from supplementary sensors, or user input. Experimental evaluations are conducted using data with different gait speeds, sensor placements, and walking trajectories. The proposed calibration method is shown to outperform fixed-threshold zero-velocity detectors and a benchmark using a speed-based threshold classifier.National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST

Map Matching by Using Inertial Sensors – Literature Review

This literature review aims to clarify what is known about map matching by using inertial sensors and what are the requirements for map matching, inertial sensors, placement and possible complementary position technology. The target is to develop a wearable location system that can position itself within a complex construction environment automatically with the aid of an accurate building model. The wearable location system should work on a tablet computer which is running an augmented reality (AR) solution and is capable of track and visualize 3D-CAD models in real environment. The wearable location system is needed to support the system in initialization of the accurate camera pose calculation and automatically finding the right location in the 3D-CAD model. One type of sensor which does seem applicable to people tracking is inertial measurement unit (IMU). The IMU sensors in aerospace applications, based on laser based gyroscopes, are big but provide a very accurate position estimation with a limited drift. Small and light units such as those based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical (MEMS) sensors are becoming very popular, but they have a signicant bias and therefore suffer from large drifts and require method for calibration like map matching. The system requires very little fixed infrastructure, the monetary cost is proportional to the number of users, rather than to the coverage area as is the case for traditional absolute indoor location systems.</p

Robust localization with wearable sensors

Measuring physical movements of humans and understanding human behaviour is useful in a variety of areas and disciplines. Human inertial tracking is a method that can be leveraged for monitoring complex actions that emerge from interactions between human actors and their environment. An accurate estimation of motion trajectories can support new approaches to pedestrian navigation, emergency rescue, athlete management, and medicine. However, tracking with wearable inertial sensors has several problems that need to be overcome, such as the low accuracy of consumer-grade inertial measurement units (IMUs), the error accumulation problem in long-term tracking, and the artefacts generated by movements that are less common. This thesis focusses on measuring human movements with wearable head-mounted sensors to accurately estimate the physical location of a person over time. The research consisted of (i) providing an overview of the current state of research for inertial tracking with wearable sensors, (ii) investigating the performance of new tracking algorithms that combine sensor fusion and data-driven machine learning, (iii) eliminating the effect of random head motion during tracking, (iv) creating robust long-term tracking systems with a Bayesian neural network and sequential Monte Carlo method, and (v) verifying that the system can be applied with changing modes of behaviour, defined as natural transitions from walking to running and vice versa. This research introduces a new system for inertial tracking with head-mounted sensors (which can be placed in, e.g. helmets, caps, or glasses). This technology can be used for long-term positional tracking to explore complex behaviours

PINSPOT: An oPen platform for INtelligent context-baSed Indoor POsiTioning

This work proposes PINSPOT; an open-access platform for collecting and sharing of context, algorithms and results in the cutting-edge area of indoor positioning. It is envisioned that this framework will become reference point for knowledge exchange which will bring the research community even closer and potentially enhance collaboration towards more effective and efficient creation of indoor positioning-related knowledge and innovation. Specifically, this platform facilitates the collection of sensor data useful for indoor positioning experimentation, the development of novel, self-learning, indoor positioning algorithms, as well as the enhancement and testing of existing ones and the dissemination and sharing of the proposed algorithms along with their configuration, the data used, and with their results

Visual-Inertial first responder localisation in large-scale indoor training environments.

Accurately and reliably determining the position and heading of first responders undertaking training exercises can provide valuable insights into their situational awareness and give a larger context to the decisions made. Measuring first responder movement, however, requires an accurate and portable localisation system. Training exercises of- ten take place in large-scale indoor environments with limited power infrastructure to support localisation. Indoor positioning technologies that use radio or sound waves for localisation require an extensive network of transmitters or receivers to be installed within the environment to ensure reliable coverage. These technologies also need power sources to operate, making their use impractical for this application. Inertial sensors are infrastructure independent, low cost, and low power positioning devices which are attached to the person or object being tracked, but their localisation accuracy deteriorates over long-term tracking due to intrinsic biases and sensor noise. This thesis investigates how inertial sensor tracking can be improved by providing correction from a visual sensor that uses passive infrastructure (fiducial markers) to calculate accurate position and heading values. Even though using a visual sensor increase the accuracy of the localisation system, combining them with inertial sensors is not trivial, especially when mounted on different parts of the human body and going through different motion dynamics. Additionally, visual sensors have higher energy consumption, requiring more batteries to be carried by the first responder. This thesis presents a novel sensor fusion approach by loosely coupling visual and inertial sensors to create a positioning system that accurately localises walking humans in largescale indoor environments. Experimental evaluation of the devised localisation system indicates sub-metre accuracy for a 250m long indoor trajectory. The thesis also proposes two methods to improve the energy efficiency of the localisation system. The first is a distance-based error correction approach which uses distance estimation from the foot-mounted inertial sensor to reduce the number of corrections required from the visual sensor. Results indicate a 70% decrease in energy consumption while maintaining submetre localisation accuracy. The second method is a motion type adaptive error correction approach, which uses the human walking motion type (forward, backward, or sideways) as an input to further optimise the energy efficiency of the localisation system by modulating the operation of the visual sensor. Results of this approach indicate a 25% reduction in the number of corrections required to keep submetre localisation accuracy. Overall, this thesis advances the state of the art by providing a sensor fusion solution for long-term submetre accurate localisation and methods to reduce the energy consumption, making it more practical for use in first responder training exercises

Wearable-Based pedestrian localization through fusjon of inertial sensor measurements

Hoy en día existe una gran demanda de sistemas de navegación personales integrados en servicios como gestión de desastres para personal de rescate. También se demandan sistemas de navegación personales como guía en grandes superficies, por ejemplo, hospitales, aeropuertos o centros comerciales. En esta tesis doctoral los escenarios estudiados son interiores y urbanos. La navegación se realiza por medio de sensores inerciales y magnéticos, idóneos por su amplia difusión, tamaño y peso reducido y porque no necesitan infraestructura. Se llevarán a cabo investigaciones para mejorar los algoritmos de navegación ya existentes y cubrir determinados aspectos aún no resueltos. En primer lugar se ha llevado a cabo un extenso análisis sobre los beneficios de usar medidas magnéticas para compensar los errores sistemáticos de los sensores inerciales, así como su efecto en la estimación de la orientación. Para ello se han usado medidas de referencia con valores de error conocidos combinando diferentes distribuciones de campos magnéticos. Los resultados obtenidos quedan respaldados con medidas realizadas con sensores reales de medio coste. Se ha concluido que el uso de medidas magnéticas es beneficioso porque acota errores en la orientación. Sin embargo, los escenarios bajo estudio suelen presentar campos magnéticos perturbados, lo que provoca que el proceso de estimación de errores sea prohibitivamente largo. En esta tesis doctoral se proponen algoritmos alternativos para el cálculo del desplazamiento horizontal del usuario, que han sido comparados con respecto a los ya existentes, ofreciendo los propuestos un mejor rendimiento. Además se incluye un innovador algoritmo para calcular el desplazamiento vertical del usuario, haciendo por primera vez posible obtener trayectorias en 3D usando solamente sensores inerciales no colocados en el zapato. Por último se propone un novedoso algoritmo capaz de prevenir errores de posición provocados por errores de rumbo. El algoritmo está basado en puntos de referencia automáticamente detectados por medio de medidas inerciales. Los puntos de referencia elegidos para los escenarios cubiertos son escaleras y esquinas, que al revisitarse permiten calcular el error acumulado en la trayectoria. Este error es compensado consiguiendo así acotar el error de rumbo. Este algoritmo ha sido extensamente probado con medidas de referencia y medidas realizadas con sensores reales de medio coste. La compensación de este error se adapta a las características del sistema de navegación personal

Indoor Localization Using Channel State Information with Regression Artificial Neural Network

RÉSUMÉ Dans cette recherche, les informations sur l'état du canal (CSI) sont utilisées pour localiser les stations mobiles dans un environnement intérieur. À cette fin, deux ordinateurs portables équipés de la carte Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Wireless Link 5300 disponible dans le commerce sont utilisés. Les informations CSI sont collectées en établissant une connexion sans fil entre deux machines de plus de 200, 70 et 52 points de référence (RP) aux sixième, cinquième et troisième étages respectivement, dans l’immeuble Lassonde de Polytechnique Montréal servant de banc d’essai expérimental. Différentes approches de localisation sont étudiées et comparées les unes aux autres en termes de précision de localisation. Dans la première approche, les CSI collectés alimentent directement le réseau de neurones artificiels (RNA) en tant que caractéristiques d’entrée et le RNA appris est utilisé en tant qu’algorithme de correspondance du modèle afin de prédire la position de l’utilisateur. La deuxième approche consiste à appliquer à l’entrée de RNA les paramètres pertinents du canal extrait représentant le nombre réduit d’entités à l’entrée de RNA. Enfin, une exploration est effectuée pour trouver la meilleure configuration de couches cachées et de facteurs d'étalement pour les réseaux Perceptron multicouche (MLP) et Réseaux de neurones à régression générale (GRNN), respectivement.----------ABSTRACT In this research, the Channel State Information (CSI) is leveraged to locate mobile stations in an indoor environment. For this purpose, two laptops equipped with the off-the-shelf Intel Wi-Fi Wireless Link 5300 (NIC card) are used. CSI information is collected by establishing a wireless connection between two machines over 200, 70 and 52 reference points (RP) on sixth, fifth, and third floors respectively, in Lassonde building of Polytechnique Montreal as the experimental testbed. Different geolocation approaches are investigated and compared with each other in terms of location accuracy and precision. In the first approach, the collected CSIs are directly fed to the artificial neural network (ANN) as input features and the learned ANN is used as the patternmatching algorithm in order to predict the user’s location. The second approach consists in applying at the input of the ANN the extracted channel relevant parameters representing the reduced number of features at the input of ANN. Finally, exploration is performed to find the best configuration of hidden layers and spread factors for Multilayer Perceptron (MLPs) and General Regression Neural Networks (GRNNs), respectively

Perception for autonomous driving in urban road environment

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH