We present a novel software tool intended for mobile robot mapping in long-term scenarios. The method allows for efficient volumetric representation of dynamic three-dimensional environments over long periods of time. It is based on a combination of a well-established 3D mapping framework called Octomaps [1] and an idea to model environment dynamics by its frequency spectrum [2]. The proposed method allows not only for efficient representation, but also reliable prediction of the future states of dynamic three-dimensional environments. Our spatio-temporal mapping framework is available as an open-source C++ library and a ROS module [3] which allows its easy integration in robotics projects. In order to act intelligently, an agent has to be able to reason about its surroundings and thus needs to model its environment. In mobile robotics, suitable world representation is an essential component that allows an intelligent robot to make decisions, plan future actions, estimate its location and cooperate with others. So far, the environment models used in mobile robotics have been tailored to represent static scenes and treat environment dynamics as unwanted noise. Thus, the research was aimed at efficient acquisition, representation and usage of static environment models.
展开▼
