Zonotopic Linear Parameter Varying SLAM Applied to Autonomous Vehicles

Sensors (Basel). 2022 May 11;22(10):3672. doi: 10.3390/s22103672.

Abstract

This article presents an approach to address the problem of localisation within the autonomous driving framework. In particular, this work takes advantage of the properties of polytopic Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) systems and set-based methodologies applied to Kalman filters to precisely locate both a set of landmarks and the vehicle itself. Using these techniques, we present an alternative approach to localisation algorithms that relies on the use of zonotopes to provide a guaranteed estimation of the states of the vehicle and its surroundings, which does not depend on any assumption of the noise nature other than its limits. LPV theory is used to model the dynamics of the vehicle and implement both an LPV-model predictive controller and a Zonotopic Kalman filter that allow localisation and navigation of the robot. The control and estimation scheme is validated in simulation using the Robotic Operating System (ROS) framework, where its effectiveness is demonstrated.

Keywords: LPV modelling; autonomous driving; interval methods; optimal estimation.

Grants and funding

This work has been co-financed by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERFD) through the project SaCoAV (ref. MINECO PID2020-114244RB-I00), by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union in the framework of the ERDF Operational Program of Catalonia 2014–2020 (ref. 001-P-001643 Looming Factory), and by the DGR of Generalitat de Catalunya (SAC group ref. 2017/SGR/482). The author is also supported by an Industrial PhD AGAUR grant (Ref. 2019 DI 040).