The geometric projection filter - An efficient solution to the SLAM problem

This paper is concerned with the simultaneous localisation and map building (SLAM) problem. The SLAM problem asks if it is possible for an autonomous vehicle to start in an unknown location in an unknown environment and then to incrementally build a map of this environment while simultaneously using this map to compute absolute vehicle location. Conventional approaches to this problem are plagued with a prohibitively large increase in computation with the size of the environment. This paper offers a new solution to the SLAM problem that is both consistent and computationally feasible. The proposed algorithm builds a map expressing the relationships between landmarks which is then transformed into landmark locations. Experimental results are presented employing the new algorithm on a subsea vehicle using a scanning sonar sensor.