Cooperative 3D and 2D mapping with heterogenous ground robots

Efficient and accurate 3D mapping is desirable in disaster recovery as well as urban warfare situations. The speed with which these maps can be generated is vital to provide situational awareness in these situations. A team of mobile robots can work together to build maps more quickly. We present an algorithm by which a team of mobile robots can merge 2D and 3D measurements to build a 3D map, together with experiments performed at a military test facility.