Koala and Pingu – Fusion of GNSS and Odometry for Indoor-Outdoor Positioning

Joakim Rydell, Jacob Eek, Robert Carsk, Jonas Nygårds, Erika Bilock, Gustav Tolt

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	This paper presents two developed systems for real-time positioning for first responders, Koala and Pingu. Both systems use factor graphs to fuse GNSS measurements with odometry. GNSS provides absolute, georeferenced positioning outdoors, while odometry enables continuous estimation of the user’s position indoors, where GNSS is unavailable. What differs between the two systems are their respective resource for odometry data. The Koala uses visual odometry, which works regardless of how the user moves, whilst Pingu instead uses lightweight foot-mounted inertial navigation systems (INS), which require walking, running or similar motion, but which are unaffected by lighting conditions or by covering the sensors. Furthermore, the paper presents how ultra-wideband ranging (UWB) can be used for collaborative positioning in a group of users, each equipped with a Pingu system. Results from a number of experiments are shown, demonstrating good positioning performance of the systems.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2024 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 23 - 25, 2024 Hyatt Regency Long Beach Long Beach, California
Pages:	1033 - 1047
Cite this article:	Rydell, Joakim, Eek, Jacob, Carsk, Robert, Nygårds, Jonas, Bilock, Erika, Tolt, Gustav, "Koala and Pingu – Fusion of GNSS and Odometry for Indoor-Outdoor Positioning," Proceedings of the 2024 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Long Beach, California, January 2024, pp. 1033-1047. https://doi.org/10.33012/2024.19531
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