YLS-SLAM: a real-time dynamic visual SLAM based on semantic segmentation

Abstract

Purpose

Traditional visual simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) systems are primarily based on the assumption that the environment is static, which makes them struggle with the interference caused by dynamic objects in complex industrial production environments. This paper aims to improve the stability of visual SLAM in complex dynamic environments through semantic segmentation and its optimization.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a real-time visual SLAM system for complex dynamic environments based on YOLOv5s semantic segmentation, named YLS-SLAM. The system combines semantic segmentation results and the boundary semantic enhancement algorithm. By recognizing and completing the semantic masks of dynamic objects from coarse to fine, it effectively eliminates the interference of dynamic feature points on the pose estimation and enhances the retention and extraction of prominent features in the background, thereby achieving stable operation of the system in complex dynamic environments.

Findings

Experiments on the Technische Universität München and Bonn data sets show that, under monocular and Red, Green, Blue - Depth modes, the localization accuracy of YLS-SLAM is significantly better than existing advanced dynamic SLAM methods, effectively improving the robustness of visual SLAM. Additionally, the authors also conducted tests using a monocular camera in a real industrial production environment, successfully validating its effectiveness and application potential in complex dynamic environment.

Originality/value

This paper combines semantic segmentation algorithms with boundary semantic enhancement algorithms to effectively achieve precise removal of dynamic objects and their edges, while ensuring the system's real-time performance, offering significant application value.

Citation

Feng, D., Yin, Z., Wang, X., Zhang, F. and Wang, Z. (2024), "YLS-SLAM: a real-time dynamic visual SLAM based on semantic segmentation", Industrial Robot, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IR-04-2024-0160