We’re delighted to announce that the new OxTS LiDAR Inertial Odometry (LIO) feature is now available to purchase.
OxTS LIO uses LiDAR data, alongside the inertial measurements from an OxTS INS, to constrain position drift in urban canyons. Using LiDAR data to aid the INS leads to an increased amount of time with accurate open-road localisation data and clearer pointclouds.
The new feature can be purchased alongside any new OxTS INS or added as an upgrade to an existing device.
If you want to improve position drift specifications in urban canyons then the new OxTS LIO feature is for you.
What is OxTS LIO?
OxTS LIO is an optional feature that can be enabled on any OxTS INS and be used to constrain position drift in urban canyons using LiDAR.
Any INS that uses GNSS to aid navigation is susceptible to position drift. This is particularly noticeable in areas where GNSS signal is regularly interrupted or blocked completely – such as urban canyons.
The new feature, can be used to aid GNSS/INS navigation in areas where gaining consistent GNSS signal can be difficult to achieve.
The result?
More accurate, repeatable navigation data, for longer periods of time in urban canyons.
To prove the concept, we collected a data set in London, UK using an OxTS INS alongside a Hesai LiDAR sensor. The ‘before’ example shows the vehicle’s position with the OxTS LIO feature turned off, and ‘after’ is with OxTS LIO on.
OxTS LIO Specification
The specification values here have been obtained statistically using a Hesai XT32 LiDAR device and an OxTS INS.
The data was collected in another urban environment, the city of Oxford, using an RTK Integer reference dataset. Oxford was chosen as it closely resembles other urban areas.
Please note that these values may vary depending on your LiDAR set-up and the environment.
| Measurement | GNSS Outage | RMSE |
|---|---|---|
| Position 2D | 60 s | 0.218 m |
| Heading | 60 s | 0.050° |
| Roll/Pitch | 60 s | 0.020° |
| Velocity 3D | 60 s | 0.037 m/s |
| Altitude | 60 s | 0.128 m |
Odometry accuracy – 0.03 – 0.05 m/s
Measurement rate – 5-20 Hz
“The new OxTS LIO feature will open up a range of opportunities for vehicle test engineers and LiDAR surveyors across the world. Test engineers will be able to confidently conduct their tests in environments where their features are meant to be used, and LiDAR surveyors will be able to create accurate pointclouds in urban areas where GNSS coverage is traditionally poor.”
Jacob Amacker, Application Engineer, OxTS
Better position data = more accurate pointclouds
The knock-on effect of better position data, is that pointcloud accuracy also improves…
The following pointcloud was generated in Munich, Germany. The hardware used was an OxTS INS and a Hesai XT32 LiDAR sensor. The data was processed using OxTS Georeferencer and the payload boresighted with the OxTS boresight calibration tool.
Position drift was constrained using the new OxTS LIO feature.
LIO Technical Paper
Download the OxTS LIO technical paper and learn more about how the new feature works alongside OxTS INS devices.
The technical paper covers several key topics including…
- How LIO works
- Performance evaluations – Oxford and London
- Potential applications and use cases
- What is required to get the most out of LIO
What do I need to use LIO?
The OxTS LIO feature can be enabled on any OxTS INS device. All that is required is:
- An OxTS Inertial Navigation System
- a 360° field of view LiDAR sensor
- The OxTS LIO feature code
- OxTS’ complimentary post-processing software NAVsuite
Trial OxTS LIO today and witness the performance improvement yourself!
Users of OxTS Inertial Navigation Systems can trial OxTS LIO for free today. Complete the form and one of our developers will be in touch to provide you with the software!
Alternatively, send us your data to info@oxts.com and we will process it for you!
