FlexCloud: Direct, Modular Georeferencing and Drift-Correction of Point Cloud Maps

Maximilian Leitenstern, Marko Alten, Christian Bolea-Schaser, Dominik Kulmer, Marcel Weinmann, Markus Lienkamp

2025

Abstract

Current software stacks for real-world applications of autonomous driving leverage map information to ensure reliable localization, path planning, and motion prediction. An important field of research is the generation of point cloud maps, referring to the topic of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). As most recent developments do not include global position data, the resulting point cloud maps suffer from internal distortion and missing georeferencing, preventing their use for map-based localization approaches. Therefore, we propose FlexCloud for an automatic georeferencing of point cloud maps created from SLAM. Our approach is designed to work modularly with different SLAM methods, utilizing only the generated local point cloud map and its odometry. Using the corresponding GNSS positions enables direct georeferencing without additional control points. By leveraging a 3D rubber-sheet transformation, we can correct distortions within the map caused by long-term drift while maintaining its structure. Our approach enables the creation of consistent, globally referenced point cloud maps from data collected by a mobile mapping system (MMS). The source code of our work is available at https://github.com/TUMFTM/FlexCloud.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Leitenstern M., Alten M., Bolea-Schaser C., Kulmer D., Weinmann M. and Lienkamp M. (2025). FlexCloud: Direct, Modular Georeferencing and Drift-Correction of Point Cloud Maps. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Vehicle Technology and Intelligent Transport Systems - Volume 1: VEHITS; ISBN 978-989-758-745-0, SciTePress, pages 157-165. DOI: 10.5220/0013359600003941

in Bibtex Style

@conference{vehits25,
author={Maximilian Leitenstern and Marko Alten and Christian Bolea-Schaser and Dominik Kulmer and Marcel Weinmann and Markus Lienkamp},
title={FlexCloud: Direct, Modular Georeferencing and Drift-Correction of Point Cloud Maps},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Vehicle Technology and Intelligent Transport Systems - Volume 1: VEHITS},
year={2025},
pages={157-165},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013359600003941},
isbn={978-989-758-745-0},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Vehicle Technology and Intelligent Transport Systems - Volume 1: VEHITS
TI - FlexCloud: Direct, Modular Georeferencing and Drift-Correction of Point Cloud Maps
SN - 978-989-758-745-0
AU - Leitenstern M.
AU - Alten M.
AU - Bolea-Schaser C.
AU - Kulmer D.
AU - Weinmann M.
AU - Lienkamp M.
PY - 2025
SP - 157
EP - 165
DO - 10.5220/0013359600003941
PB - SciTePress