Two-Dimensional Axis Mapping Using LiDAR

This paper introduces two-dimensional axis mapping, which estimates axis maps (AMs) based on LiDAR measurements. An AM describes the dominant orientations of surfaces in an environment and is void of positional information. As a consequence of the directional nature of the map, there are significant differences compared with traditional mapping algorithms. Experimental results are presented from simulated, indoor, outdoor, and underground environments. One major application of AMs is for heading estimation. An example of this application is shown to effectively bound the growth of heading error in both an indoor and an outdoor environment.