Precise 3-D localization by automatic laser theodolite and odometer for civil-engineering machines

This paper presents a navigation system providing precise 3D position and spatial attitude data for slow outdoor vehicles. Our system uses an odometer and an automatic laser theodolite, the data of which are fused using a Kalman filter. We show through different experiments carried out with the evaluation station SESSYL that the high accuracies required for some civil-engineering tasks are fully satisfied, provided the beacons are properly positioned.