Mapping forests using an unmanned ground vehicle with 3D LiDAR and graph-SLAM

Enabling automated 3D mapping in forests is an important component of the future development of forest technology, and has been garnering interest in the scientific community, as can be seen from the many recent publications. Accordingly, the authors of the present paper propose the use of a Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping algorithm, called graph-SLAM, to generate local maps of forests. In their study, the 3D data required for the mapping process were collected using a custom-made, mobile platform equipped with a number of sensors, including Velodyne VLP-16 LiDAR, a stereo camera, an IMU, and a GPS. The 3D map was generated solely from laser scans, first by relying on laser odometry and then by improving it with robust graph optimisation after loop closures, which is the core of the graph-SLAM algorithm. The resulting map, in the form of a 3D point cloud, was then evaluated in terms of its accuracy and precision. Specifically, the accuracy of the fitted diameter at breast height (DBH) and the relative distance between the trees were evaluated. The results show that the DBH estimates using the Pratt circle fit method could enable a mean estimation error of approximately 2 cm (7–12%) and an RMSE of 2.38 cm (9%), whereas for tree positioning accuracy, the mean error was 0.0476 m. The authors conclude that robust SLAM algorithms can support the development of forestry by providing cost-effective and acceptable quality methods for forest mapping. Moreover, such maps open up the possibility for precision localisation for forestry vehicles.