INS/GNSS/LiDAR Fusion for Accurate Positioning of UAVs in Complex River Environments

Artur C. Fabrício, Mathieu Joerger, Peter Bauer-Gottwein, Daniel H. Olesen

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	This paper describes the development and evaluation of an INS/GNSS/LiDAR algorithm aimed at maintaining cm-accuracy when an RTK/PPK solution is not available for airborne data collected by a UAV flying in a complex river environment. Two methods are proposed to derive position and velocity from sparse LiDAR point clouds to be utilized in an Error State Kalman Filter: scan-to-scan matching, not relying on global or local maps, and scan-to-map matching, relying on a temporary local map. Both methods use simple point-to-point ICP. Results suggest that the proposed algorithms perform better than a standalone INS/GNSS solution, while achieving performance comparable to fix/float PPK.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 38th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2025) September 8 - 12, 2025 Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor Baltimore, Maryland
Pages:	2011 - 2020
Cite this article:	Fabrício, Artur C., Joerger, Mathieu, Bauer-Gottwein, Peter, Olesen, Daniel H., "INS/GNSS/LiDAR Fusion for Accurate Positioning of UAVs in Complex River Environments," Proceedings of the 38th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2025), Baltimore, Maryland, September 2025, pp. 2011-2020. https://doi.org/10.33012/2025.20449
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