Analysis and Calibration of the VLP-16 LiDAR for Automotive Applications

Daniela E. Sánchez and Thomas Pany

Abstract:	This paper presents advances based on previous studies regarding the analysis and calibration of the 3D LiDAR VLP-16. For this purpose, measurements with the sensor are conducted in facilities particularly dedicated to the calibration of sensors at the University of the German Federal Armed Forces (UniBwM). As it is well known, many terrestrial laser scanner applications, and specifically precise localization for autonomous driving using LiDAR, demand accurate and precise measurements. For this reason, it is of our interest to continue the work of other researching groups (e.g. [1–5]) to characterize errors observed in the measurements of the LiDAR VLP-16. The present study shows the methodology we used to evaluate the performance of each laser channel and characterize them independently of each other. Furthermore, we evaluate the measurements of the sensor in a wide span of ranges, namely from 1 m to 20 m. The results show that a correction can be applied to enhance the accuracy of the range values measured by the sensor.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 32nd International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2019) September 16 - 20, 2019 Hyatt Regency Miami Miami, Florida
Pages:	2611 - 2621
Cite this article:	Sánchez, Daniela E., Pany, Thomas, "Analysis and Calibration of the VLP-16 LiDAR for Automotive Applications," Proceedings of the 32nd International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2019), Miami, Florida, September 2019, pp. 2611-2621. https://doi.org/10.33012/2019.17093
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