WP4-14

Map Enhancement

ID	WP4-14
Contributor	ALMENDE
Levels	Platform, Function
Require
Provide	2d/3d Map data with added information: quality, heatmaps, semantic information
Input	SLAM output and pre-existing maps
Output	ROS TF/map data, shared among multiple robots
C4D building block
TRL	4
Parent Building block	[]
Contact	ludo at almende.org

Description

There are various sources for the creation of information-rich maps/grids, which can be used for SLAM and navigation. This component explicitly focuses on a generic way of providing query-like access to this information, providing temporal, shared situational awareness. This is achieved by leveraging the current map meta-information (timestamps and frame ids), augmented by additional meta-information per map-layer, e.g. trustworthiness, resolution, capture-time-range, etc. Especially additional information on whether the information is based on predictors or real sensors is relevant. Using this extended meta-info, a query service is provided through which map-products can be obtained for usage in navigation and as input for SLAM algorithms. Input map information can come from a variety of sources, including multiple robots, existing 3d & BIM models, hardware-in-the-loop simulation, semantic maps, AI & ML trained models.

Improvements

Currently, there are some ROS libraries for map merging, however, there are only a few fully-functional solutions that aim at shared situational awareness at a map level. Furthermore, there are some experiments for an "environment descriptor", an approach for semantic maps. This component is aiming for a more generic, complete map enhancement service for seamless merging, enhancing, predicting maps, including more semantically rich logic.