Calibration of Laser Range Finders for mobile robot localization in ITER

Remote maintenance operations in the experimental fusion reactor ITER may require vehicle localization, for which one of the proposed methods is based on a network of Laser Range Finder sensor measurements. This localization method requires an accurate knowledge of each sensor pose (position and orientation). A deviation in sensor pose can compromise localization accuracy thereby recalibration procedure for the sensor poses is often necessary. This paper studies several calibration algorithms based on ICP. Simulation and experimental tests were carried out for different maps and situations regarding sensor pose uncertainty. The conclusion proposes the best suited algorithms for each scenario.