Real time UGV positioning based on Reference beacons aided LiDAR scan matching

In this paper, a real time positioning experiment based on reference beacons aided LiDAR scan matching is designed and conducted. In the experiment, we utilize a robot platform that integrates IMU and 2D LiDAR sensor, to scan matching with prepared 2D environment feature map, which includes the information of reflection beacons. Robot platform estimated heading and position change by point-cloud-based pattern match algorithm-Occupied Grid Gauss - Newton Matching. In featureless area, where scan matching is easy to failure, low-cost reference beacons not only can enrich environmental features, but also can improve indoor position accuracy by adding calibration information in scan matching. The trajectory and positioning result of robot platform prove that the proposed method can provide accurate and reliable navigation and position, with fewer reference beacons, compared to traditional completely laser reflection beacons Iocalization method for Warehouse UGV.