Vehicle Localization and Control on Roads with Prior Grade Map

TL;DR

This paper introduces a map-aided vehicle localization method that uses prior road grade maps and onboard sensors to accurately determine vehicle position in GPS-denied environments, enhancing control and planning.

Contribution

It presents a novel localization approach leveraging prior grade maps combined with vehicle sensors, validated within a hierarchical control system for energy-efficient vehicle operation.

Findings

Localization accuracy improved in GPS-denied scenarios

Effective integration with hierarchical control system demonstrated

Validated through simulations and real-world experiments

Abstract

We propose a map-aided vehicle localization method for GPS-denied environments. This approach exploits prior knowledge of the road grade map and vehicle on-board sensor measurements to accurately estimate the longitudinal position of the vehicle. Real-time localization is crucial to systems that utilize position-dependent information for planning and control. We validate the effectiveness of the localization method on a hierarchical control system. The higher level planner optimizes the vehicle velocity to minimize the energy consumption for a given route by employing traffic condition and road grade data. The lower level is a cruise control system that tracks the position-dependent optimal reference velocity. Performance of the proposed localization algorithm is evaluated using both simulations and experiments.