Milli-RIO: Ego-Motion Estimation with Low-Cost Millimetre-Wave Radar

TL;DR

Milli-RIO leverages low-cost millimeter-wave radar and inertial sensors to accurately estimate indoor ego-motion, offering a resource-efficient solution with centimeter-level precision.

Contribution

This paper introduces Milli-RIO, a novel ego-motion estimation method using low-cost MMWave radar and inertial sensors for indoor environments.

Findings

Achieves centimeter-level localization accuracy.

Demonstrates robustness in indoor scenarios.

Utilizes low-cost, resource-efficient hardware.

Abstract

Robust indoor ego-motion estimation has attracted significant interest in the last decades due to the fast-growing demand for location-based services in indoor environments. Among various solutions, frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar sensors in millimeter-wave (MMWave) spectrum are gaining more prominence due to their intrinsic advantages such as penetration capability and high accuracy. Single-chip low-cost MMWave radar as an emerging technology provides an alternative and complementary solution for robust ego-motion estimation, making it feasible in resource-constrained platforms thanks to low-power consumption and easy system integration. In this paper, we introduce Milli-RIO, an MMWave radar-based solution making use of a single-chip low-cost radar and inertial measurement unit sensor to estimate six-degrees-of-freedom ego-motion of a moving radar. Detailed quantitative and qualitative evaluations prove that the proposed method achieves precisions on the order of few centimeters for indoor localization tasks.