scholarly journals Successive Collaborative SLAM: Towards Reliable Inertial Pedestrian Navigation

Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 464
Author(s):  
Susanna Kaiser
Keyword(s):  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Indoor Navigation ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Multiple Sensors ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Window Technique ◽  
Measurement Units ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Slam Algorithm ◽  
Emergency Scenarios

In emergency scenarios, such as a terrorist attack or a building on fire, it is desirable to track first responders in order to coordinate the operation. Pedestrian tracking methods solely based on inertial measurement units in indoor environments are candidates for such operations since they do not depend on pre-installed infrastructure. A very powerful indoor navigation method represents collaborative simultaneous localization and mapping (collaborative SLAM), where the learned maps of several users can be combined in order to help indoor positioning. In this paper, maps are estimated from several similar trajectories (multiple users) or one user wearing multiple sensors. They are combined successively in order to obtain a precise map and positioning. For reducing complexity, the trajectories are divided into small portions (sliding window technique) and are partly successively applied to the collaborative SLAM algorithm. We investigate successive combinations of the map portions of several pedestrians and analyze the resulting position accuracy. The results depend on several parameters, e.g., the number of users or sensors, the sensor drifts, the amount of revisited area, the number of iterations, and the windows size. We provide a discussion about the choice of the parameters. The results show that the mean position error can be reduced to ≈0.5 m when applying partly successive collaborative SLAM.

scholarly journals Integrating Moving Platforms in a SLAM Agorithm for Pedestrian Navigation

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 4367
Author(s):  
Susanna Kaiser ◽  
Christopher Lang
Keyword(s):  
Weighting Function ◽  
Dead Reckoning ◽  
Position Estimation ◽  
Indoor Navigation ◽  
Floor Level ◽  
Moving Platforms ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Measurement Units ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Slam Algorithm

In 3D pedestrian indoor navigation applications, position estimation based on inertial measurement units (IMUss) fails when moving platforms (MPs), such as escalators and elevators, are not properly implemented. In this work, we integrate the MPs in an upper 3D-simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm which is cascaded to the pedestrian dead-reckoning (PDR) technique. The step and heading measurements resulting from the PDR are fed to the SLAM that additionally estimates a map of the environment during the walk in order to reduce the remaining drift. For integrating MPs, we present a new proposal function for the particle filter implementation of the SLAM to account for the presence of MPs. In addition, a new weighting function for features such as escalators and elevators is developed and the features are learned and stored in the learned map. With this, locations of MPs are favored when revisiting the MPs again. The results show that the mean height error is about 0.1 m and the mean position error is less than 1 m for walks with long distances along the floors, even when using multiple floor level changes with different numbers of floors in a multistory environment. For walks with short walking distances and many floor level changes, the mean height error can be higher (about 0.5 m). The final floor number is in all cases except one correctly estimated.

Localization and Mapping for Indoor Navigation

2020 ◽  
pp. 930-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heba Gaber ◽  
Mohamed Marey ◽  
Safaa Amin ◽  
Mohamed F. Tolba
Keyword(s):  
System Architecture ◽  
Large Range ◽  
Simultaneous Localization And Mapping ◽  
Indoor Navigation ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Challenging Problem ◽  
Unknown Environments ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Robotic Missions

Mapping and exploration for the purpose of navigation in unknown or partially unknown environments is a challenging problem, especially in indoor environments where GPS signals can't give the required accuracy. This chapter discusses the main aspects for designing a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) system architecture with the ability to function in situations where map information or current positions are initially unknown or partially unknown and where environment modifications are possible. Achieving this capability makes these systems significantly more autonomous and ideal for a large range of applications, especially indoor navigation for humans and for robotic missions. This chapter surveys the existing algorithms and technologies used for localization and mapping and highlights on using SLAM algorithms for indoor navigation. Also the proposed approach for the current research is presented.

scholarly journals INDOOR NAVIGATION AND MAPPING: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF UWB-BASED PLATFORM POSITIONING

2020 ◽  
Vol XLIII-B1-2020 ◽  
pp. 549-555
Author(s):  
A. Masiero ◽  
H. Perakis ◽  
J. Gabela ◽  
C. Toth ◽  
V. Gikas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wide Band ◽  
Indoor Navigation ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Navigation Systems ◽  
Positioning Systems ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Slam Algorithm ◽  
Tof Camera

Abstract. The increasing demand for reliable indoor navigation systems is leading the research community to investigate various approaches to obtain effective solutions usable with mobile devices. Among the recently proposed strategies, Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) positioning systems are worth to be mentioned because of their good performance in a wide range of operating conditions. However, such performance can be significantly degraded by large UWB range errors; mostly, due to non-line-of-sight (NLOS) measurements. This paper considers the integration of UWB with vision to support navigation and mapping applications. In particular, this work compares positioning results obtained with a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm, exploiting a standard and a Time-of-Flight (ToF) camera, with those obtained with UWB, and then with the integration of UWB and vision. For the latter, a deep learning-based recognition approach was developed to detect UWB devices in camera frames. Such information is both introduced in the navigation algorithm and used to detect NLOS UWB measurements. The integration of this information allowed a 20% positioning error reduction in this case study.

scholarly journals REINFORCEMENT LEARNING HELPS SLAM: LEARNING TO BUILD MAPS

2020 ◽  
Vol XLIII-B4-2020 ◽  
pp. 329-335
Author(s):  
N. Botteghi ◽  
B. Sirmacek ◽  
R. Schulte ◽  
M. Poel ◽  
C. Brune
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Real Time ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Simultaneous Localization And Mapping ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Robot Localization ◽  
Robust Solution ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Reward Functions ◽  
Slam Algorithm

Abstract. In this research, we investigate the use of Reinforcement Learning (RL) for an effective and robust solution for exploring unknown and indoor environments and reconstructing their maps. We benefit from a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithm for real-time robot localization and mapping. Three different reward functions are compared and tested in different environments with growing complexity. The performances of the three different RL-based path planners are assessed not only on the training environments, but also on an a priori unseen environment to test the generalization properties of the policies. The results indicate that RL-based planners trained to maximize the coverage of the map are able to consistently explore and construct the maps of different indoor environments.

Localization and Mapping for Indoor Navigation

2017 ◽  
pp. 136-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heba Gaber ◽  
Mohamed Marey ◽  
Safaa Amin ◽  
Mohamed F. Tolba
Keyword(s):  
System Architecture ◽  
Large Range ◽  
Simultaneous Localization And Mapping ◽  
Indoor Navigation ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Challenging Problem ◽  
Unknown Environments ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Robotic Missions

Mapping and exploration for the purpose of navigation in unknown or partially unknown environments is a challenging problem, especially in indoor environments where GPS signals can't give the required accuracy. This chapter discusses the main aspects for designing a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) system architecture with the ability to function in situations where map information or current positions are initially unknown or partially unknown and where environment modifications are possible. Achieving this capability makes these systems significantly more autonomous and ideal for a large range of applications, especially indoor navigation for humans and for robotic missions. This chapter surveys the existing algorithms and technologies used for localization and mapping and highlights on using SLAM algorithms for indoor navigation. Also the proposed approach for the current research is presented.

scholarly journals An Evidential Framework for Localization of Sensors in Indoor Environments

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Alshamaa ◽  
Farah Mourad-Chehade ◽  
Paul Honeine ◽  
Aly Chkeir
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Localization ◽  
Indoor Navigation ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
People Tracking ◽  
Multiple Sensors ◽  
Dempster Shafer Theory ◽  
Asset Tracking ◽  
Evidence Framework ◽  
Autonomous Robot Navigation ◽  
Shafer Theory

Indoor localization has several applications ranging from people tracking and indoor navigation, to autonomous robot navigation and asset tracking. We tackle the problem as a zoning localization where the objective is to determine the zone where the mobile sensor resides at any instant. The decision-making process in localization systems relies on data coming from multiple sensors. The data retrieved from these sensors require robust fusion approaches to be processed. One of these approaches is the belief functions theory (BFT), also called the Dempster–Shafer theory. This theory deals with uncertainty and imprecision with a theoretically attractive evidential reasoning framework. This paper investigates the usage of the BFT to define an evidence framework for estimating the most probable sensor’s zone. Real experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach and its competence compared to state-of-the-art methods.

scholarly journals Navigation Strategies for Exploring Indoor Environments

2002 ◽  
Vol 21 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 829-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Héctor H. González-Baños ◽  
Jean-Claude Latombe
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Robotics ◽  
Local Model ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Map Building ◽  
Sensory Data ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Expected Gain ◽  
Safe Region ◽  
Slam Algorithm

In this paper, we investigate safe and efficient map-building strategies for a mobile robot with imperfect control and sensing. In the implementation, a robot equipped with a range sensor builds apolygonal map (layout) of a previously unknown indoor environment. The robot explores the environment and builds the map concurrently by patching together the local models acquired by the sensor into a global map. A well-studied and related problem is the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem, where the goal is to integrate the information collected during navigation into the most accurate map possible. However, SLAM does not address the sensor-placement portion of the map-building task. That is, given the map built so far, where should the robot go next? This is the main question addressed in this paper. Concretely, an algorithm is proposed to guide the robot through a series of “good” positions, where “good” refers to the expected amount and quality of the information that will be revealed at each new location. This is similar to the next-best-view (NBV) problem studied in computer vision and graphics. However, in mobile robotics the problem is complicated by several issues, two of which are particularly crucial. One is to achieve safe navigation despite an incomplete knowledge of the environment and sensor limitations (e.g., in range and incidence). The other issue is the need to ensure sufficient overlap between each new local model and the current map, in order to allow registration of successive views under positioning uncertainties inherent to mobile robots. To address both issues in a coherent framework, in this paper we introduce the concept of a safe region, defined as the largest region that is guaranteed to be free of obstacles given the sensor readings made so far. The construction of a safe region takes sensor limitations into account. In this paper we also describe an NBV algorithm that uses the safe-region concept to select the next robot position at each step. The new position is chosen within the safe region in order to maximize the expected gain of information under the constraint that the local model at this new position must have a minimal overlap with the current global map. In the future, NBV and SLAM algorithms should reinforce each other. While a SLAM algorithm builds a map by making the best use of the available sensory data, an NBV algorithm, such as that proposed here, guides the navigation of the robot through positions selected to provide the best sensory inputs.

A two-level optimized graph-based simultaneous localization and mapping algorithm

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 758-765
Author(s):  
Hui Xiong ◽  
Youping Chen ◽  
Xiaoping Li ◽  
Bing Chen
Keyword(s):  
Simultaneous Localization And Mapping ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Construction Process ◽  
Loop Closure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mapping Algorithm ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Slam Algorithm ◽  
Estimated Error

PurposeBecause submaps including a subset of the global map contain more environmental information, submap-based graph simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) has been studied by many researchers. In most of those studies, helpful environmental information was not taken into consideration when designed the termination criterion of the submap construction process. After optimizing the graph, cumulative error within the submaps was also ignored. To address those problems, this paper aims to propose a two-level optimized graph-based SLAM algorithm.Design/methodology/approachSubmaps are updated by extended Kalman filter SLAM while no geometric-shaped landmark models are needed; raw laser scans are treated as landmarks. A more reasonable criterion called the uncertainty index is proposed to combine with the size of the submap to terminate the submap construction process. After a submap is completed and a loop closure is found, a two-level optimization process is performed to minimize the loop closure error and the accumulated error within the submaps.FindingsSimulation and experimental results indicate that the estimated error of the proposed algorithm is small, and the maps generated are consistent whether in global or local.Practical implicationsThe proposed method is robust to sparse pedestrians and can be adapted to most indoor environments.Originality/valueIn this paper, a two-level optimized graph-based SLAM algorithm is proposed.

scholarly journals Measuring the Uncertainty of Probabilistic Maps Representing Human Motion for Indoor Navigation

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna Kaiser ◽  
Maria Garcia Puyol ◽  
Patrick Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Human Motion ◽  
Indoor Navigation ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Mapping Algorithm ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
History Of ◽  
Important Field ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

Indoor navigation and mapping have recently become an important field of interest for researchers because global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are very often unavailable inside buildings. FootSLAM, a SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithm for pedestrians based on step measurements, addresses the indoor mapping and positioning problem and can provide accurate positioning in many structured indoor environments. In this paper, we investigate how to compare FootSLAM maps via two entropy metrics. Since collaborative FootSLAM requires the alignment and combination of several individual FootSLAM maps, we also investigate measures that help to align maps that partially overlap. We distinguish between the map entropy conditioned on the sequence of pedestrian’s poses, which is a measure of the uncertainty of the estimated map, and the entropy rate of the pedestrian’s steps conditioned on the history of poses and conditioned on the estimated map. Because FootSLAM maps are built on a hexagon grid, the entropy and relative entropy metrics are derived for the special case of hexagonal transition maps. The entropy gives us a new insight on the performance of FootSLAM’s map estimation process.

scholarly journals An Adaptive Augmented Vision-Based Ellipsoidal SLAM for Indoor Environments

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 2795
Author(s):  
Lahemer ◽  
Rad
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Vision System ◽  
Computational Effort ◽  
Monocular Vision ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Simulation Studies ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Landmark Identification ◽  
Slam Algorithm

In this paper, the problem of Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) is addressed via a novel augmented landmark vision-based ellipsoidal SLAM. The algorithm is implemented on a NAO humanoid robot and is tested in an indoor environment. The main feature of the system is the implementation of SLAM with a monocular vision system. Distinguished landmarks referred to as NAOmarks are employed to localize the robot via its monocular vision system. We henceforth introduce the notion of robotic augmented reality (RAR) and present a monocular Extended Kalman Filter (EKF)/ellipsoidal SLAM in order to improve the performance and alleviate the computational effort, to provide landmark identification, and to simplify the data association problem. The proposed SLAM algorithm is implemented in real-time to further calibrate the ellipsoidal SLAM parameters, noise bounding, and to improve its overall accuracy. The augmented EKF/ellipsoidal SLAM algorithms are compared with the regular EKF/ellipsoidal SLAM methods and the merits of each algorithm is also discussed in the paper. The real-time experimental and simulation studies suggest that the adaptive augmented ellipsoidal SLAM is more accurate than the conventional EKF/ellipsoidal SLAMs.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document