Inertial Perception and AI-driven Navigation: From Behaviour-aware SLAM to Localisation on Wearables and UAVs

Abstract

An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is often used as a small component within an integrated navigation system. In most cases, the IMU serves as an auxiliary tool to enhance the accuracy of external sensors. In other words, positioning results primarily depend on external inputs. However, if these external sensors fail, the entire navigation system may also fail, as low-cost IMUs cannot operate independently due to their rapid error drift. In this seminar, Dr Bai will present their perspective on advancing the frontiers of IMU-based localisation. By leveraging human behaviour features and deep learning techniques, the group have developed an indoor, behaviour-aware semantic mapping and localisation method based solely on inertial perception. In collaboration with Honor Company, Dr Bai is also exploring smartwatch-based inertial odometry, which presents particular challenges in real-world scenarios due to the vigorous and unpredictable nature of human body motion. The group has tested this technique in various buildings and busy public areas in Hong Kong, where it has demonstrated strong performance in both indoor and outdoor environments. Finally, Prof. Bai will share preliminary results of applying this method to UAV localisation during aggressive flight manoeuvres.

Speaker

Dr Shiyu Bai (Member, IEEE) received his PhD in Navigation, Guidance, and Control from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), Nanjing, China, in 2022. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has published papers in leading journals, including IEEE TMC, TAES, TIE, and TITS. He is also the co-author of the book Theory and Application of Factor Graph Integrated Navigation. Dr Bai was the recipient of the Youth Innovation Doctoral Dissertation Award from the Chinese Society of Inertial Technology in 2024, the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award from NUAA in 2024, and First Prize in the “Challenge Underground 2020” competition organised by the Science and Technology Committee of the Central Military Commission in 2020.