Real-Time Indoor and Outdoor Simultaneous Localization and Mapping

位置服务已经被《时代》杂志评为十大技术趋势之一，在基于位置的广告、推荐、导航、资产追回、游戏等领域具有潜在的应用。许多公司都在研究和改进基于位置的服务。例如，谷歌地图正在努力增加谷歌商店的视图。然而，现有的室内和室外地图大多是相对静态的。实际上，室内和室外环境可能会随着时间的推移而动态变化。因此，迫切需要新的技术和系统来改善现代城市(室外和室内)中的同步定位、测绘和导航。此外，在灾难恢复等许多应用中，救援人员必须与其他团队成员合作才能完成任务。因此，救援人员能够实时准确地知道同伴的相对位置是非常必要的。本项目介绍了一种全面的方法，提供实时的轻量级和准确的相对定位技术来检测室内和室外环境中的同伴。这项研究的结果将在同时定位和测绘的理论基础和实用算法的发展方面取得重大进展。这项工作的更广泛影响将通过以下方式进一步扩大：(I)通过改进课程项目来改进课程设置；(Ii)通过高知名度的教程和开放源码网站传播研究成果；(Iii)通过开放参观提高K-12学生和代表不足的少数群体对技术的兴趣；以及(Iv)支持有才华的少数族裔博士生成功完成博士学习。

Location-based service has been ranked as #1 in top 10 technology trends by Time magazine, with potential applications in the area of location-based advertising, recommendation, navigation, asset recovery, gaming, etc. Lots of companies are investigating and improving the location-based services. For example, Google Map is working on adding Google Store Views. However, most of the existing indoor and outdoor maps are relatively static. In reality, the indoor and outdoor environments may dynamically change over time. Therefore, there is a pressing need for novel technologies and systems to improve simultaneous localization, mapping, and navigation in modern cities (both outdoor and indoor). Moreover, in many applications, such as disaster recovery, rescuers have to cooperate with other team members to perform their tasks. Therefore, it is highly desirable that rescuers can accurately know the relative positions of their peers in real-time.This project introduces a holistic approach for providing real-time light-weight and accurate relative positioning techniques to detect peers in both indoor and outdoor environment. The outcome of this research will constitute a significant advance in the development of theoretical foundations and practical algorithms for simultaneous localization and mapping. The broader impact of this work will be further amplified by (i) improving curriculum development with enhanced course projects; (ii) disseminating research results through high-profile tutorials and open-source sites; (iii) raising interest in technology among K-12 students and under-represented minority groups through open houses; and (iv) supporting a talented minority PhD student to successfully accomplish the doctoral study.