GNSS, IMU, camera and LIDAR technology characterization for railway ground truth and digital map generation

Satellite navigation in combination with affordable onboard sensors are key enabling technologies to support the digitalization in railway transport. However, the adoption of these technologies still requires common methodologies to evaluate anywhere the positioning performance. For this, the comparison with a reference ground truth as well as the availability of digital railway maps is necessary. However, the development of a reliable Ground Truth and Digital Map solutions based on affordable onboard sensors requires on its side first a rigorous characterization of each sensor technology. This paper provides with the most important aspects for the characterization of GNSS, IMU, Camera and LIDAR technologies for its use in railway environment within the context of the European RAILGAP project.