Multi-sensor Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) with principled ICP covariance modelling.(NPO-52659-1)

To overcome these degeneracy, we developed a SLAM solution called State Estimation through Robust Perception in Extreme and Novel Terrains (SERPENT). SERPENT estimates the robot trajectory and maintains a map database, from which dense global or local maps can be obtained on demand for downstream planning algorithms. The design of this system adopts the approach that incorporating measurements from many sensor modalities (laser scans, images, IMU, altimeter, etc.) into a joint optimisation, with the contribution of each carefully modeled through their uncertainties, is essential to robust state estimation in challenging, perceptually degraded environments.