Terminology

This documents a few common patterns that exist in the Cartographer codebase.

Frames

global map frame
This is the frame in which global SLAM results are expressed. It is the fixed map frame including all loop closure and optimization results. The transform between this frame and any other frame can jump when new optimization results are available. Its z-axis points upwards, i.e. the gravitational acceleration vector points in the -z direction, i.e. the gravitational component measured by an accelerometer is in the +z direction.
local map frame
This is the frame in which local SLAM results are expressed. It is the fixed map frame excluding loop closures and the pose graph optimization. For a given point in time, the transform between this and the global map frame may change, but the transform between this and all other frames does not change.
submap frame
Each submap has a separate fixed frame.
tracking frame
The frame in which sensor data is expressed. It is not fixed, i.e. it changes over time. It is also different for different trajectories.
gravity-aligned frame
Only used in 2D. A frame colocated with the tracking frame but with a different orientation that is approximately aligned with gravity, i.e. the gravitational acceleration vector points approximately in the -z direction. No assumption about yaw (rotation around the z axis between this and the tracking frame) should be made. A different gravity-aligned frame is used for different trajectory nodes, e.g. yaw can change arbitrarily between gravity-aligned frames of consecutive nodes.

Transforms

local_pose
Transforms data from the tracking frame (or a submap frame, depending on context) to the local map frame.
global_pose
Transforms data from the tracking frame (or a submap frame, depending on context) to the global map frame.
local_submap_pose
Transforms data from a submap frame to the local map frame.
global_submap_pose
Transforms data from a submap frame to the global map frame.