Occupancy-SLAM: Simultaneously optimizing robot poses and continuous occupancy map

Liang Zhao*, Yingyu Wang, Shoudong Huang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an optimization based SLAM approach to simultaneously optimize the robot trajectory and the occupancy map using 2D laser scans (and odometry) information. The key novelty is that the robot poses and the occupancy map are optimized together, which is significantly different from existing occupancy mapping strategies where the robot poses need to be obtained first before the map can be estimated. In our formulation, the map is represented as a continuous occupancy map where each 2D point in the environment has a corresponding evidence value. The Occupancy-SLAM problem is formulated as an optimization problem where the variables include all the robot poses and the occupancy values at the selected discrete grid cell nodes. We propose a variation of Gauss-Newton method to solve this new formulated problem, obtaining the optimized occupancy map and robot trajectory together with their uncertainties. Our algorithm is an offline approach since it is based on batch optimization and the number of variables involved is large. Evaluations using simulations and publicly available practical 2D laser datasets demonstrate that the proposed approach can estimate the maps and robot trajectories more accurately than the state-of-the-art techniques, when a relatively accurate initial guess is provided to our algorithm. The video shows the convergence process of the proposed OccupancySLAM and comparison of results to Cartographer can be found at https://youtu.be/4oLyVEUC4iY.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationRobotics
Subtitle of host publicationScience and Systems XVIII
EditorsKris Hauser, Dylan Shell, Shoudong Huang
PublisherMIT Press Journals
Pages1-13
Number of pages13
ISBN (Print)9780992374785
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2022
Event18th Robotics: Science and Systems - New York City, United States
Duration: 27 Jun 20221 Jul 2022

Publication series

NameRobotics: Science and Systems
PublisherMIT Press Journals
ISSN (Electronic)2330-765X

Conference

Conference18th Robotics
Abbreviated titleRSS 2022
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityNew York City
Period27/06/221/07/22

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