A Real-Time Algorithm for Mobile Robot Mapping With Applications to Multi-Robot and 3D Mapping

Sebastian Thrun, Wolfram Burgard, Dieter Fox

Abstract: We present an incremental method for concurrent mapping and localization for mobile robots equipped with 2D laser range finders. The approach uses a fast implementation of scan-matching for mapping, paired with a sample-based probabilistic method for localization. Compact 3D maps are generated using a multi-resolution approach adopted from the computer graphics literature, fed by data from a dual laser system. Our approach builds 3D maps of large, cyclic environments in real-time, and it is robust. Experimental results illustrate that accurate maps of large, cyclic environments can be generated even in the absence of any odometric data.