The Backpack Dataset

A cross-seasonal dataset

3D Reconstruction of the Vyšehrad castle in Prague, Czech Republic, using the same sensor suite.

About the dataset

The backpack dataset is a cross-seasonal semantic dataset, captured on a monthly basis between August 2020 and July 2021, around lake Symphony in Metz, France. The data was captured on-foot, by carrying a sensor suite that contains an rs-bPearl lidar, 3 FLIR cameras, a vectornav VN-200 INS and an EMLID RTK GPS. The 1.31 KM trajectory is a combination of mud and bike trails. The same trajectory was taken during the 12 surveys.

In addition to the main on-foot data, 4 additional surveys were captured while riding an electric scooter. The scooter surveys only use the bike trail, and are roughly spread out over the year's length. Some of the scooter surveys complete two or more laps around the lake, which could be intereting for algorithms that use loop closure.

In addition to intensity values, lidar data is enriched with semantics. This is achieved by performing semantic segmenation on the 3 FLIR cameras, and then projecting the lidar output onto these semantic images. The following work was used to perform semantic segmentation: https://github.com/maunzzz/cross-season-segmentation

Snapshot from Google Maps showing the 1.31 KM trajectory taken during each survey. White control points are required to draw the trajectory on Maps.

3D reconstruction of the survey of March 2021, using semantic-aware ICP

Using the backpack dataset: 3D reconstruction (right) and comparison with a Google Earth Snapshot (left)

Gallery

Using the backpack dataset: 3D reconstruction of a section around lake Symphony in Metz, France.

Backpack dataset: The below images are captured from the center, backwards-looking camera (cam1).

mud trails

bike trails

Snapshots from the snowy survey of January 2021

In addition to lake Symphony, the backpack travelled to other destinations, and went through mutliple upgrades to the lidar. The below pitures were taken in France, Canada and the Czech Republic.