Heterogeneous Sensor Fusion for Accurate State Estimation of Dynamic Legged Robots

S. Nobili, M. Camurri, V. Barasuol, M. Focchi, D. Caldwell, C. Semini, M. Fallon

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

In this paper we present a system for the state estimation of a dynamically walking and trotting quadruped. The approach fuses four heterogeneous sensor sources (inertial, kinematic, stereo vision and LIDAR) to maintain an accurate and consistent estimate of the robot’s base link velocity and position in the presence of disturbances such as slips and missteps. We demonstrate the performance of our system, which is robust to changes in the structure and lighting of the environment, as well as the terrain over which the robot crosses. Our approach builds upon a modular inertial-driven Extended Kalman Filter which incorporates a rugged, probabilistic leg odometry component with additional inputs from stereo visual odometry and LIDAR registration. The simultaneous use of both stereo vision and LIDAR helps combat operational issues which occur in real applications. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to discuss the complexity of consistent estimation of pose and velocity states, as well as the fusion of multiple exteroceptive signal sources at largely different frequencies and latencies, in a manner which is acceptable for a quadruped’s feedback controller. A substantial experimental evaluation demonstrates the robustness and accuracy of our system, achieving continuously accurate localization and drift per distance traveled below 1cm/m.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of Robotics: Science and Systems XIII
Number of pages9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Jul 2017
EventRobotics: Science and System XIII - Cambridge, United States
Duration: 12 Jul 201716 Jul 2017
http://rss2017.lids.mit.edu/

Conference

ConferenceRobotics: Science and System XIII
Abbreviated titleRSS 2017
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityCambridge
Period12/07/1716/07/17
Internet address

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