Terrain-based road vehicle localisation using particle filters

This work develops a particle filter algorithm to localise a vehicle in the direction of travel without the use of GPS. The inputs to the algorithm include a terrain map of road grade, pitch measurements from an in-vehicle pitch sensor, and wheel odometry. Simulations and experiments at The Thomas D. Larson Transportation Institute test track are used to demonstrate the algorithm, observe the speed of convergence, and to determine key parameters for practical implementation. The results indicate that the method can quickly localise a vehicle with 1m accuracy or better. Experiments over 5 km along Highway 322 in State College, Pennsylvania, were also used to demonstrate the algorithm.