Possible Breakthroughs
What’s next? By many indications, some engineers are hard at work introducing control points to SLAM. This would help to keep SLAM accurate at long distances by providing precisely located landmarks that a device can use to correct for errors, combating the problem of location “drift” as the device scans at larger distances. “With control in place,” Coco told me, “it would allow us to confidently scan enormous structures (buildings, plants, stockpiles, etc.) with a handheld mapping system!”
In other words, Coco says, “I anticipate the usefulness of SLAM will escalate dramatically in the near future.”
And remember how the technology was developed for robots? Well, imagine applying the SLAM algorithms that these companies are developing back to robots. Now you’ve got an autonomous machine that can explore its environment without human input and map it accurately. I’m sure you could find a use for that.
(Do you have something to say about SLAM? Think I’m full of hot air? Email me and we’ll set the record straight.)