SLAM System and Method for Mobile Robots Receiving Environmental Photo Input from Users

Mobile Robot SLAM System for Pre-mapping and Expansion via User-Provided Photos

This technology is a SLAM system that generates an initial SLAM map frame by receiving environmental photos and information from a user terminal, and subsequently expands and modifies the map by integrating sensor data collected as the mobile robot navigates.

Conventional SLAM requires robots to explore the entire environment to build a map, which is time-consuming and inefficient, as it often necessitates repeating the entire mapping process to modify or expand parts of an existing map.

This technology proposes a method that uses environmental photos taken from a user terminal to set landmarks and create a basic map framework in advance. When a command to modify or expand the map is received, it performs local updates based on photos of specific areas or moves to the location to integrate real-time data. This reduces mapping time and enables efficient map management. Applicable to home service robots and indoor delivery robots, it significantly reduces initial setup time and enhances user convenience by securing the basic map framework using only photos provided by the user.

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Key Features:

• A user terminal that receives environmental information, including photos, and commands from the user and transmits them to the mobile robot.
• A mobile robot that performs mapping by identifying the transmitted environmental information, as well as surrounding environmental information and movement data acquired from a data acquisition device.
• A configuration that pre-builds a portion of the map using environmental information received from the user terminal.
• A configuration that moves to a specific location upon receiving photos of an environment to be modified or expanded, and updates or extends the map accordingly.