Multi-Robot Active Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Based on Cooperative Correction Approach

Abstract

Cooperation strategy is the key point in multi-robot active simultaneous localization and mapping ( SLAM) . A cooperation strategy based on correcting each other,called cooperative correction,is proposed. The approach is applied to multi-robot active SLAM by state machine. The cooperative correction approach improves the accuracy of localization and mapping by optimizing the observations of landmarks in two modes: weak cooperative correction and strong cooperative correction. The former is anindirect mode,which is used when all the robots are in low accuracy. The latter is a direct mode,under which the robot with high accuracy will actively correct other robot and related landmarks. Compared the proposed approach with other multi-robot active SLAM approachs,the simulation results validate the advantage of high accuracy,and compared with single robot active SLAM,the simulation results validate the advantage of low navigation cost. Finally,the experimental result in real environment with two Pioneer3-DX mobile robots validates that the cooperative correction approach effectively improves the efficiency and accuracy of multi-robot active SLAM.