CSI-Assisted Edge SLAM Testbed Platform for 5G Connected Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles

2026-07-11

AI Summary

This study addresses the challenges of integrating communication and perception for efficient, low-latency SLAM in 5G-connected autonomous vehicles operating at the network edge. The authors present an end-to-end experimental platform that integrates a custom unmanned ground vehicle, a ROS 2-based SLAM framework, and a 5G O-RAN system. Innovatively leveraging the O-RAN architecture, channel state information (CSI) is explicitly introduced as a novel sensing modality into the edge SLAM pipeline. Cross-layer data coordination is achieved through the integration of DDS/RTPS communication mechanisms with 5G user-plane transport. Deployed in real-world conditions, this platform demonstrates for the first time the feasibility of joint communication-and-sensing SLAM, uncovering critical integration bottlenecks related to latency, synchronization, and data flow scheduling, thereby offering empirical insights and technical guidance for robotic system design in the 6G era.

Abstract

The evolution from 5G towards 6G reinforces interest in connected robotics, where mobile robots offload compute-intensive tasks to edge servers over ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) links. Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), a fundamental yet demanding robotics function, is increasingly considered for edge deployment within mobile edge computing (MEC) frameworks. In parallel, integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) enables the use of radio channel information, such as channel state information (CSI), as an additional sensing modality in radio-based SLAM. In this paper, we design and implement a CSI-assisted Edge SLAM testbed integrating a custom unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), a ROS2-based SLAM framework, and a 5G Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) system. The proposed architecture provides an end-to-end, cross-layer view of ROS2 sensor data streaming over 5G, explicitly enabling CSI exposure and integration into the SLAM pipeline. We analyze ROS2 DDS communication, RTPS packetization, and 5G user-plane transport, and discuss mechanisms for CSI extraction and delivery via O-RAN components. The platform enables realistic experimentation with communication-aware SLAM and reveals key challenges related to latency, data streaming, synchronization, and cross-system integration, providing insights for future 6G-enabled robotic platforms.

Problem

• CSI
• Edge SLAM
• 5G
• Connected Autonomous Vehicles
• ISAC

Innovation

• CSI-assisted SLAM
• Edge Computing
• 5G O-RAN
• ROS2
• Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC)