Map merging for distributed robot navigation

Kurt Konolige, Dieter Fox, Benson Limketkai, Jonathan Ko, Benjamin Stewart

Abstract: A set of robots mapping an area can potentially combine their information to produce a distributed map more efficiently than a single robot alone. We describe a general framework for distributed map building in the presence of uncertain communication. Within this framework, we then present a technical solution to the key decision problem of determining relative location within partial maps.