Model based GPS/INS integration for high accuracy land vehicle applications: calibration of a swarm of MEMS sensors

We consider the problem of reconstructing the trajectory of a mobile mapping system based on a midsize van. Mobile mapping requires, of course, high accuracy. Usually this is achieved by resorting to costly GPS/INS integrated systems. The INS, in particular, must guarantee high performance when the GPS signal is occluded. This paper concerns the possibility of using, in alternative, a swarm of low cost MEMS accelerometers mounted in random positions and orientations. In order to be able to reconstruct the trajectory, the relative position and orientation of each accelerometer should be known. Here, we propose a method for an automatic calibration of the cloud of MEMS sensors and an algorithm for trajectory reconstruction by GPS and MEMS accelerometers integration