Infrastructure Free Rover Localization

This paper introduces a system applicable to autonomous planetary exploration rovers that provides localization in the inevitable absence of a Global Positioning System (GPS). Given a terrain elevation map previously constructed from satellite imagery, the proposed method determines rover pose using new imagery from an onboard stereo camera system by combining visual odometry, 3D terrain matching, and horizon visibility refinement. This system is evaluated on experimental data recorded during a 3km traverse using a prototype planetary rover testbed. Results indicate a reduction in localization error by over 60% compared to that derived from wheel odometry alone.