The problem is often solved in practice by applying the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm [106]. In the general framework, there are three different spaces:
The EM algorithm involves an expectation step followed by a maximization step. The two steps are repeated as necessary until a solution with the desired accuracy is obtained. The method is guaranteed to converge under general conditions [269,977,978]. In practice, it appears to work well even under cases that are not theoretically guaranteed to converge [940].
From this point onward, let , , and denote the three spaces for the EM algorithm because they pertain directly to the problem. Suppose that a robot has moved in the environment for stages, resulting in a final stage, . At each stage, , an observation, , is made using its sensor. This could, for example, represent a set of distance measurements made by sonars or a range scanner. Furthermore, an action, , is applied for to . A prior probability density function, , is initially assumed over . This leads to the history I-state, , as defined in (11.14).
Now imagine that stages have been executed, and the task is to estimate . From each , a measurement, , of part of the environment is taken. The EM algorithm generates a sequence of improved estimates of . In each execution of the two EM steps, a new estimate of is produced. Let denote this estimate after the th iteration. Let denote the configuration history from stage to stage . The expectation step computes the expected likelihood of given . This can be expressed as12.3
(12.31) |
Note that once determined, (12.30) is a function only of and . The maximization step involves selecting an that minimizes (12.30):
(12.32) |
One important factor in the success of the method is in the representation of . In the EM computations, one common approach is to use a set of landmarks, which were mentioned in Section 11.5.1. These are special places in the environment that can be identified by sensors, and if correctly classified, they dramatically improve localization. In [941], the landmarks are indicated by a user as the robot travels. Classification and positioning errors can both be modeled probabilistically and incorporated into the EM approach. Another idea that dramatically simplifies the representation of is to approximate environments with a fine-resolution grid. Probabilities are associated with grid cells, which leads to a data structure called an occupancy grid [307,685,850]. In any case, must be carefully defined to ensure that reasonable prior distributions can be made for to initialize the EM algorithm as the robot first moves.
Steven M LaValle 2020-08-14