Visual–Inertial Navigation System Based on Virtual Inertial Sensors

In this paper, we propose a novel visual–inertial simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) method for intelligent navigation systems that aims to overcome the challenges posed by dynamic or large-scale outdoor environments. Our approach constructs a visual–inertial navigation system by utilizing virtual inertial sensor components that are mapped to the torso IMU under different gait patterns through gait classification. We apply a zero-velocity update (ZUPT) to initialize the system with the original visual–inertial information. The pose information is then iteratively updated through nonlinear least squares optimization, incorporating additional constraints from the ZUPT to improve the accuracy of the system’s positioning and mapping capabilities in degenerate environments. Finally, the corrected pose information is fed into the solution. We evaluate the performance of our proposed SLAM method in three typical environments, demonstrating its applicability and high precision across various scenarios. Our method represents a significant advancement in the field of intelligent navigation systems and offers a promising solution to the challenges posed by degenerate environments.