Brandon Curtis Colelough

Brandon Curtis Colelough

Sub-symbolic artificial intelligence methods dominate the fields of environment-type classification and Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping. However, a significant area overlooked within these fields is solution transparency for the human-machine interaction space, as the sub-symbolic methods employed for map generation do not account for the explainability of the solutions generated. This paper proposes a novel approach to environment-type classification through Symbolic Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping, SymboSLAM, to bridge the explainability gap. Our method for environment-type classification observes ontological reasoning used to synthesise the context of an environment through the features found within. We achieve explainability within the model by presenting operators with environment-type classifications overlayed by a semantically labelled occupancy map of landmarks and features. We evaluate SymboSLAM with ground-truth maps of the Canberra region, demonstrating method effectiveness. We assessed the system through both simulations and real-world trials.

Brandon Curtis Colelough

This survey paper presents a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements in the field of Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) with a focus on the integration of symbolic representation of environment features. The paper synthesizes research trends in multi-agent systems (MAS) and human-machine teaming, highlighting their applications in both symbolic and sub-symbolic SLAM tasks. The survey emphasizes the evolution and significance of ontological designs and symbolic reasoning in creating sophisticated 2D and 3D maps of various environments. Central to this review is the exploration of different architectural approaches in SLAM, with a particular interest in the functionalities and applications of edge and control agent architectures in MAS settings. This study acknowledges the growing demand for enhanced human-machine collaboration in mapping tasks and examines how these collaborative efforts improve the accuracy and efficiency of environmental mapping