Sketched Floor plans versus SLAM maps: A Comparison

• Main Authors: Bowen-Biggs, Leo, Dazo, Suzanne, Zhang, Yili, Hubers, Alex, Rueben, Matthew, Sowell, Ross, Smart, William D, Grimm, Cindy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 15-06-2016
• Subjects: Computer Science - Human-Computer Interaction
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1606.04836

Maps --- specifically floor plans --- are useful for a variety of tasks from
arranging furniture to designating conceptual or functional spaces (e.g.,
kitchen, walkway). We present a simple algorithm for quickly laying a floor
plan (or other conceptual map) onto a SLAM map, creating a one-to-one mapping
between them. Our goal was to enable using a floor plan (or other hand-drawn or
annotated map) in robotic applications instead of the typical SLAM map created
by the robot. We look at two use cases, specifying "no-go" regions within a
room and locating objects within a scanned room. Although a user study showed
no statistical difference between the two types of maps in terms of performance
on this spatial memory task, we argue that floor plans are closer to the mental
maps people would naturally draw to characterize spaces.