Learning part-based spatial models for laser-vision-based room categorization

Room categorization, i.e., recognizing the functionality of a never before seen room, is a crucial capability for a household mobile robot. We present a new approach for room categorization that is based on 2D laser range data. The method is based on a novel spatial model consisting of mid-level parts that are built on top of a low-level part-based representation. The approach is then fused with a vision-based method for room categorization, which is also based on a spatial model consisting of mid-level visual-parts. In addition, we propose a new discriminative dictionary learning technique that is applied for part-dictionary selection in both laser-based and vision-based modalities. Finally, we present a comparative analysis between laser-based, vision-based, and laser-vision-fusion-based approaches in a uniform part-based framework that is evaluated on a large dataset with several categories of rooms from the domestic environments.