On the Connection Between Magnetic-Field Odometry Aided Inertial Navigation and Magnetic-Field SLAM

Isaac Skog, Manon Kok, Gustaf Hendeby, Chuan Huang, and Thomas Edridge

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	Magnetic-field simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) using consumer-grade inertial and magnetometer sensors offers a scalable, cost-effective solution for indoor localization. However, the rapid error accumulation in the inertial navigation process limits the feasible exploratory phases of these systems. Advances in magnetometer array processing have demonstrated that odometry information, i.e., displacement and rotation information, can be extracted from local magnetic field variations and used to create magnetic-field odometry-aided inertial navigation systems. The error growth rate of these systems is significantly lower than that of standalone inertial navigation systems. This study seeks an answer to whether a magnetic-field SLAM system fed with measurements from a magnetometer array can indirectly extract odometry information — without requiring algorithmic modifications — and thus sustain longer exploratory phases. The theoretical analysis and simulation results show that such a system can extract odometry information and indirectly create a magnetic field odometry-aided inertial navigation system during the exploration phases. However, practical challenges related to map resolution and computational complexity remain significant. Index Terms—SLAM, inertial navigation, magnetic field, odometry, sensor array
Published in:	2025 IEEE/ION Position, Location and Navigation Symposium (PLANS) April 28 - 1, 2025 Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek Salt Lake City, UT
Pages:	809 - 814
Cite this article:	Skog, Isaac, Kok, Manon, Hendeby, Gustaf, Huang, Chuan, Edridge, Thomas, "On the Connection Between Magnetic-Field Odometry Aided Inertial Navigation and Magnetic-Field SLAM," 2025 IEEE/ION Position, Location and Navigation Symposium (PLANS), Salt Lake City, UT, April 2025, pp. 809-814.
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