Multisensor Concept for Autonomous Navigation of Unmanned Systems in GNSS-denied Environments

To carry out autonomous extraterrestrial exploration tasks on planets or planetary objects in our solar systems, among others, the absence of an absolute, reliable and to an Inertial Navigation System (INS) - complementary localization system, which is similar to a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), is a major problem to overcome. Even though such localization systems shall meet the requirements for extraterrestrial applications, the resulting algorithms and technologies to successfully carry out such a mission an extraterrestrial exploration on planets or planetary objects might also be applicable for terrestrial purposes such as autonomous cavern exploration, underground mining and deep-sea research. In order to compensate for the lack of a Global Navigation Satellite System, the project focuses on Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) techniques. Thus cameras and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) devices can be deployed to gather information about the environment. Furthermore, to tackle the arising problems of autonomous navigation, localization and mapping, a software and hardware concept has been developed, that will be further adapted to suit ground and airborne rovers. In addition a collision avoidance approach, using the real-time LiDAR data to build and analyze the environment using an OctoMap, is represented while the Unmanned System (UAS) is moving toward the next point of interest.