# hku-mars/LiDAR_IMU_Init

[IROS2022] Robust Real-time LiDAR-inertial Initialization Method.

Repository: https://github.com/hku-mars/LiDAR_IMU_Init
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/lidar_imu_init
Language: C++
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: calibration, lidar-odometry, slam
Last push: 2026-04-30T06:50:33+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 59/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 80, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1652, "days_push": 125, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1491, forks 253 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:52.517203+00:00)

## What it is
LI-Init is a robust, real-time initialization method for LiDAR-inertial systems that calibrates temporal offset, extrinsic parameters, gravity vector, and IMU bias without any targets or extra sensors. It includes a robust LiDAR odometry (FAST-LO) modified from FAST-LIO2 and supports multiple mechanical spinning and solid-state LiDAR types.

## Use cases
- calibrate extrinsic parameters between a LiDAR and IMU without hardware setup
- estimate time offset between LiDAR and IMU sensors in real time
- initialize a LiDAR-inertial SLAM system robustly
- run robust LiDAR odometry with Hesai, Velodyne, Ouster, or Livox sensors
- integrate initialization into FAST-LIO2 pipelines
- estimate gravity vector and IMU bias for sensor fusion

## When to choose
- you need targetless LiDAR-IMU extrinsic and time offset calibration
- you are building a SLAM or odometry system with LiDAR and IMU inputs
- you use Livox solid-state or common spinning LiDARs on Ubuntu with ROS
- you want a robust initialization module for FAST-LIO2

## When to avoid
- you need camera-LiDAR or other multi-sensor calibration
- you work outside ROS/Ubuntu environments
- you need a fully integrated SLAM solution rather than an initialization module
- your project requires a permissive license since this is GPL-2.0

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: robotics, simulation, math, parser
- domain: robotics, autonomous-vehicles, developer-tools
- platform: cpp
- tags: lidar, imu, calibration, slam, ros, sensor-fusion, initialization, fast-lio, odometry, time-offset-calibration, algorithms, linux

## Member repositories
- hku-mars/LiDAR_IMU_Init (main) score 59

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:52.517203+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:33:34.721541+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/hku-mars/LiDAR_IMU_Init (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:52.517203+00:00, sha 4fb88668e56d)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.