Extrinsic Calibration Method for GNSS/IMU and LiDAR with the Custom Calibration Pattern

In this paper, a novel approach for extrinsic calibration of GNSS/IMU and multiline LiDAR sensors in ground-based SLAM systems is presented. LiDAR and GNSS/IMU sensors are widely used in SLAM systems for sensing and localization. However, precise calibration of the extrinsic parameters between these sensors is crucial for successful sensor fusion. The extrinsic calibration involves determining the translation and rotation matrices, denoted as t and R respectively, which characterize the relative position and orientation between the GNSS/IMU and LiDAR sensors. To achieve accurate calibration, a specially designed calibration plate is introduced in this approach. One major advantage of this method is that it can be performed in a static setting, eliminating the need to calculate LiDAR odometry. This allows for continuous and highly accurate GNSS/IMU positional data acquisition. Additionally, by moving the combination to accumulate multiple poses, the method ensures that the GNSS/IMU and multiline LiDAR sensors have only one fixed attitude during calibration. This increases the robustness of the calibration results. To validate the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, simulated and measured datasets are used for quantitative and qualitative assessments. The results demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of the extrinsic calibration approach.