High-Precision Mapping and Real-Time Localization for Agricultural Machinery Sheds and Farm Access Roads Environments

Abstract

To address the issues of signal loss and insufficient accuracy of traditional GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) navigation in agricultural machinery sheds and farm access road environments, this paper proposes a high-precision mapping method for such complex environments and a real-time localization system for agricultural vehicles. First, an autonomous navigation system was developed by integrating multi-sensor data from LiDAR (Light Laser Detection and Ranging), GNSS, and IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), with functional modules for mapping, localization, planning, and control implemented within the ROS (Robot Operating System) framework. Second, an improved LeGO-LOAM algorithm is introduced for constructing maps of machinery sheds and farm access roads. The mapping accuracy is enhanced through reflectivity filtering, ground constraint optimization, and ScanContext-based loop closure detection. Finally, a localization method combining NDT (Normal Distribution Transform), IMU, and a UKF (Unscented Kalman Filter) is proposed for tracked grain transport vehicles. The UKF and IMU measurements are used to predict the vehicle state, while the NDT algorithm provides pose estimates for state update, yielding a fused and more accurate pose estimate. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed mapping method reduces APE (absolute pose error) by 79.99% and 49.04% in the machinery sheds and farm access roads environments, respectively, indicating a significant improvement over conventional methods. The real-time localization module achieves an average processing time of 26.49 ms with an average error of 3.97 cm, enhancing localization accuracy without compromising output frequency. This study provides technical support for fully autonomous operation of agricultural machinery.