Semi-automatic acquisition of symbolically-annotated 3D-models of office environments

Describes a semi-automatic method for acquiring SA3D maps, maps that contain hierarchically structured 3D models of static, task relevant objects in the environment. Map acquisition is implemented as a two step process. In the first step, the robot acquires an approximate model that represents regions that might contain objects and indicate possibly occluding objects. This approximate model is then used to compute appropriate locations from where camera images should be taken. Object models are reconstructed interactively through human operators who place wireframe model in the camera images captured by the robot. The method is implemented and validated on an autonomous mobile robot