Table 1 Comparison of commonly used localization sensors
From: Review of visual odometry: types, approaches, challenges, and applications
Sensor/technology | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
Wheel odometry | Simple to determine position/orientation Short term accuracy, and allows high sampling rates Low cost solution | Position drift due to wheel slippage Error accumulation over time Velocity estimation requires numerical differentiation that produces additional noise |
INS | Provides both position and orientation using 3-axis accelerometer and gyroscope Not subject to interference outages | Position drift (position estimation requires second-order integral) Have long-term drift errors |
GPS/GNSS | Provides absolute position with known value of error No error accumulation over time | Unavailable in indoor, underwater, and closed areas Affected by RF interference |
Ultrasonic sensor | Provides a scalar distance measurement from sensor to object Inexpensive solution | Reflection of signal wave is dependent on material or orientation of obstacle surface Suffer from interference if multiple sensors are used Low angular resolution and scan rate |
Laser sensor | Similar to sonar sensors but has higher accuracy and scan rate Return the distance to a single point (rangefinder) or an array of distances (scanner) | Reflection of signal wave is dependent on material or orientation of obstacle surface Expensive solution |
Optical camera | Images store a huge meaningful information Provide high localization accuracy Inexpensive solution | Requires image-processing and data-extraction techniques High computational-cost to process images |