3D ToF LiDAR for Mobile Robotics in Harsh Environments: A Review

Over the past decade, the use of 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) LiDARs in mobile robotics has grown rapidly. Based on our accumulation of relevant research, this paper systematically reviews and analyzes the use of 3D ToF LiDARs for mobile robotics under harsh conditions such as adverse weather, GPS-denied, and highly dynamic environments for both research and industrial applications. The former include LiDAR data processing in adverse weather, object detection, and autonomous navigation. The latter encompasses autonomous driving, service robotics, and public health crises applications. We hope that our efforts can effectively provide readers with a reference based on our hands-on experiences and promote the deployment of existing mature technologies in real-world systems.