Recognition of Indoor Environment by Robot Partner Using Conversation

Abstract

To support daily life before performing an action, a robot partner must perceive an unknown environment. Much research has been done from various viewpoints on self-localization estimation and environment perception. In our research, the robot partner performs self-localization and environment recognition using Simultaneous Localization and Mapping for self-localization estimation and map building. In this paper, we propose a method for recognizing indoor environments by robot partners based on conversations with human beings. Information acquired from maps is identified in order to share the meaning with human beings after the required interpretation. In this paper, we therefore propose a method for recognizing environmental maps by labeling these maps based on symbolic information developed through conversation with human beings. The proposed method is composed of four parts. First, the robot partner applies a steady-state genetic algorithm for self-localization estimation. Second, we use a map building algorithm for expressing the topological map. Third, conversation with human beings is performed for acquiring symbolic information in order to recognize object and position locations through the map. Fourth, we perform experiments and discuss the effectiveness of the proposed technique.