Brain-Inspired Visual Odometry: Balancing Speed and Interpretability Through a System of Systems Approach

In this study, we address the critical challenge of balancing speed and accuracy while maintaining interpretablity in visual odometry (VO) systems, a pivotal aspect in the field of autonomous navigation and robotics. Traditional VO systems often face a trade-off between computational speed and the precision of pose estimation. To tackle this issue, we introduce an innovative system that synergistically combines traditional VO methods with a specifically tailored fully connected network (FCN). Our system is unique in its approach to handle each degree of freedom independently within the FCN, placing a strong emphasis on causal inference to enhance interpretability. This allows for a detailed and accurate assessment of relative pose error (RPE) across various degrees of freedom, providing a more comprehensive understanding of parameter variations and movement dynamics in different environments. Notably, our system demonstrates a remarkable improvement in processing speed without compromising accuracy. In certain scenarios, it achieves up to a 5 % reduction in Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), showcasing its ability to effectively bridge the gap between speed and accuracy that has long been a limitation in VO research. This advancement represents a significant step forward in developing more efficient and reliable VO systems, with wide-ranging applications in real-time navigation and robotic systems.