Sancta simplicitas - on the efficiency and achievable results of SLAM using ICP-based incremental registration

This paper presents an efficient combination of algorithms for SLAM in dynamic environments. The overall approach is based on range image registration using the ICP algorithm. Different extensions to this algorithm are used to incrementally construct point models of the robot´s workspace. A simple heuristic allows for determining which points in a newly acquired range image are already contained in the point model and for adding only those points that provide new information. Furthermore, the means for dealing with environment dynamics are presented which allow for continuously conducting SLAM and updating the point model according to changes in a dynamic environment. The achievable results of the overall approach are compared to Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filters as a state-of-the-art solution to the SLAM problem and evaluated using a recently published benchmark by Burgard et al. (2009).