Globally Consistent 3D LiDAR Mapping with GPU-accelerated GICP Matching Cost Factors

TL;DR

This paper introduces a real-time 3D LiDAR mapping framework that uses GPU-accelerated global matching cost minimization with a factor graph approach, improving long trajectory accuracy.

Contribution

It proposes a novel GPU-accelerated matching cost factor for global LiDAR map optimization, enabling real-time dense mapping with improved accuracy.

Findings

Enhanced long trajectory estimation accuracy on KITTI dataset

Real-time performance achieved through GPU parallel processing

Effective avoidance of local minima with loop detection

Abstract

This paper presents a real-time 3D LiDAR mapping framework based on global matching cost minimization. The proposed method constructs a factor graph that directly minimizes matching costs between frames over the entire map, unlike pose graph-based approaches that minimize errors in the pose space. For real-time global matching cost minimization, we use a voxel data association-based GICP matching cost factor that is able to fully leverage GPU parallel processing. The combination of the matching cost factor and GPU computation enables constraint of the relative pose between frames with a small overlap and creation of a densely connected factor graph. The mapping process is managed based on a voxel-based overlap metric that can quickly be evaluated on a GPU. We incorporate the proposed method with an external loop detection method in order to help the voxel-based matching cost factors to avoid convergence in a local solution. The experimental result on the KITTI dataset shows that the proposed approach improves the estimation accuracy of long trajectories.