Anticipatory robot navigation by simultaneously localizing and building a cognitive map

Abstract

This paper presents a method for a mobile robot to construct and localize relative to a "cognitive map", where the cognitive map is assumed to be a representational structure that encodes both spatial and behavioral information. The localization is performed by applying a generic Bayes filter. The cognitive map was implemented within a behavior-based robotic system, providing a new behavior that allows the robot to anticipate future events using the cognitive map. One of the prominent advantages of this approach is elimination of the pose sensor usage (e.g., shaft encoder, compass, GPS, etc.), which is known for its limitations and proneness to various errors. A preliminary experiment was conducted in simulation and its promising results are discussed.