How IMU Drift Influences Multi-Radar Inertial Odometry for Ground Robots in Subterranean Terrains

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2602.24192v1
• Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:15:50 GMT
• Title: How IMU Drift Influences Multi-Radar Inertial Odometry for Ground Robots in Subterranean Terrains
• Abstract summary: We propose a two-stage MRIO framework that combines an IMU bias estimator for resilient localization and mapping.<n>It maintains accuracy across cost-efficient FMCW radar setups and different IMUs, showing resilience with Pixhawk and higher-grade units such as VectorNav.<n>The proposed framework further supports radar-only mapping by exploiting the robot's estimated translational and rotational displacements.
• Score: 16.196972581962342
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Reliable radar inertial odometry (RIO) requires mitigating IMU bias drift, a challenge that intensifies in subterranean environments due to extreme temperatures and gravity-induced accelerations. Cost-effective IMUs such as the Pixhawk, when paired with FMCW TI IWR6843AOP EVM radars, suffer from drift-induced degradation compounded by sparse, noisy, and flickering radar returns, making fusion less stable than LiDAR-based odometry. Yet, LiDAR fails under smoke, dust, and aerosols, whereas FMCW radars remain compact, lightweight, cost-effective, and robust in these situations. To address these challenges, we propose a two-stage MRIO framework that combines an IMU bias estimator for resilient localization and mapping in GPS-denied subterranean environments affected by smoke. Radar-based ego-velocity estimation is formulated through a least-squares approach and incorporated into an EKF for online IMU bias correction; the corrected IMU accelerations are fused with heterogeneous measurements from multiple radars and an IMU to refine odometry. The proposed framework further supports radar-only mapping by exploiting the robot's estimated translational and rotational displacements. In subterranean field trials, MRIO delivers robust localization and mapping, outperforming EKF-RIO. It maintains accuracy across cost-efficient FMCW radar setups and different IMUs, showing resilience with Pixhawk and higher-grade units such as VectorNav. The implementation will be provided as an open-source resource to the community (code available at https://github.com/LTU-RAI/MRIO

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