Validation Technology for Autonomous Navigation Methods of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Based on SLAM Algorithms

Abstract

The article proposes a technology for validating autonomous navigation methods for unmanned aerial vehicles based on simultaneous mapping and localization (SLAM) algorithms. The proposed technology is based on experimental studies using real flight data and includes the design of validation scenarios, synchronization and spatial alignment of trajectories, as well as the calculation of a set of quantitative metrics characterizing global and local accuracy, drift accumulation, and the stability of the navigation solution. As a demonstration example, the technology was evaluated using the VINS-Fusion visual-inertial algorithm using recordings of real UAV flights. The obtained results show that the proposed approach allows comparing different SLAM solutions under the same conditions and identifying flight modes that are most sensitive to error accumulation.