Seamless Indoor-Outdoor Mapping for INGENIOUS First Responders

TL;DR

This paper presents an automated indoor-outdoor 3D mapping system for first responders, combining aerial and ground-based data to create seamless models without relying on global positioning.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method integrating aerial and indoor mapping using geo-referenced AprilTags for real-time, seamless 3D model generation in disaster scenarios.

Findings

Achieves real-time indoor-outdoor 3D mapping without global GPS.

Successfully geo-references indoor point clouds with aerial data.

Enables seamless visualization of disaster environments.

Abstract

In several applications it is desired to have 3D models not only from the outdoor spaces but also from inside the building. In the context of First Responder enhancement in large scale natural and man-made disasters, a method is presented to achieve this goal with a high degree of automation. Therefore an autonomously flying aerial mapping system is combined with a person-carried indoor positioning system. Automatically recognized markers (AprilTags) are geo-referenced by the aerial system and their coordinates are sent to the ground-based system. By looking at the AprilTags before entering the building, the ground-based system is registered to world coordinates. Without the further need of any global positioning, it creates a point cloud from the indoor spaces that fits with the point could from the aerial view. This allows a co-visualization of both point-clouds as a seamless indoor-outdoor 3D model in real time.