An Open Source, Fiducial Based, Visual-Inertial State Estimation System.

Abstract

Many robotic tasks rely on the estimation of the location of moving bodies with respect to the robotic workspace. This information about the robots pose and velocities is usually either directly used for localization and control or utilized for verification. Often motion capture systems are used to obtain such a state estimation. However, these systems are very costly and limited in terms of workspace size and outdoor usage. Therefore, we propose a lightweight and easy to use, visual inertial Simultaneous Localization and Mapping approach that leverages paper printable artificial landmarks, so called fiducials. Results show that by fusing visual and inertial data, the system provides accurate estimates and is robust against fast motions. Continuous estimation of the fiducials within the workspace ensures accuracy and avoids additional calibration. By providing an open source implementation and various datasets including ground truth information, we enable other community members to run, test, modify and extend the system using datasets or their own robotic setups.