Xsens Vision Navigator GNSS/INS with VIO

Description

Overview

When it comes to outdoor (and indoor) autonomous vehicles, it’s essential to know precisely where the vehicle is located at all times. An easy solution is to use a GNSS receiver with RTK corrections from a nearby base station. While this gives you centimeter-accurate localization, it only works with good GNSS reception.

Once you enter more challenging or even GNSS-denied environments, GNSS measurements become inaccurate. For these applications, we have the Xsens Vision Navigator.

Using dual RTK GNSS, an internal IMU and a camera, and visual-inertial odometry technology, the Xsens Vision Navigator provides accurate real-time navigation data, even in prolonged GNSS outages. Whether you are going into a forest, an urban environment, a warehouse, a tunnel, or even underground, the Xsens Vision Navigator will continue to provide reliable 3D position, velocity, and orientation data.

With the Vision Navigator, position drift is distance-dependent as opposed to time-dependent – as commonly found in more traditional GNSS/INS devices. Because of this, the Vision Navigator is able to cope with continuous GNSS disturbances or long-lasting GNSS outages.

The Xsens Vision Navigator integrates position inputs from three high-accuracy sources:

• Dual-antenna RTK GNSS receivers which can receive signals from all constellations
• Inertial measurement unit incorporating a three-axis accelerometer, three-axis gyroscope and magnetometer
• Visual inertial odometry system

The Xsens Vision Navigator can also optionally accept inputs from an external wheel speed sensor and has internal recording memory. This positioning sensor achieves centimeter-level accuracy when operating in GNSS mode with an RTK fix. When deprived of GNSS signals, the Xsens Vision Navigator alone achieves class-leading accuracy of 2% of travel distance, or just 0.75% when supplemented by wheel speed. In open field, orientation accuracy is 0.4 degree with one meter baseline between two GNSS antennas, and velocity measurements are accurate to ±0.05m/s. This high performance with and without GNSS signals makes the Xsens Vision Navigator ideal for many outdoor positioning applications.

Existing GNSS-enabled Xsens modules such as the MTi-680G use dead reckoning in GNSS-deprived areas to maintain accurate positioning data. Visual inertial odometry technology complements this positioning, producing very low drift over time, and excellent dead reckoning results over distance.

Peter Xie, Vice President of Sensor Modules at Movella, said: “The combination of Fixposition’s visual technology with the outstanding Xsens IMU and GNSS+RTK performance gives extremely high dead reckoning performance in any outdoor application that has to operate in the temporary absence of, or degraded, GNSS signals.”

The dual-antenna and built-in IMU provide reliable heading information even at low velocities or when standing still.

System developers can evaluate the Xsens Vision Navigator now with the Xsens Vision Navigator Starter Kit. The kit includes an Xsens Vision Navigator in its enclosure, an aluminum mounting system with suction cups, two dual-band GNSS antennas, a Wi-Fi® radio antenna, power, Ethernet, I/O and antenna cables, and a battery with charger.

Vision Navigator has a browser-based GUI and is supported by ROS with resources in Github.

Features

• Accurate positioning during GNSS outages
• Full ROS compatibility
• Ethernet, WIFI, USB-C, UART and odometry in (CAN) connections

Applications

• Materials handling equipment
• Commercial and specialist vehicles
• Last-mile delivery
• Inspection equipment
• Inspection drones
• Agricultural equipment
• Mining and construction equipment
• Utility robots

Technical Specifications

Videos

Options

• Starter Kit p/n: XVN-090D-1A-SK
• Single Unit p/n: XVN-090D-1A

Ordering

The Xsens Vision Navigator GNSS/INS with VIO is available through Canal Geomatics. Please use the Request Pricing form to contact us for further information.