When Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Meets Wireless Communications: A Survey

TL;DR

This survey explores the intersection of SLAM and wireless communications, highlighting how each field can enhance the other through techniques like visual SLAM and RF-based localization, and discussing future challenges.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of how SLAM and wireless communications intersect, including analysis of techniques, potential benefits, and the current state of integrated solutions.

Findings

RF information can help monocular V-SLAM resolve scale ambiguity

Visual odometry can enhance wireless communication systems in 5G and beyond

Integrated SLAM and wireless communication solutions are still in early development stages

Abstract

This paper surveys the state-of-the-art in the nexus of SLAM and Wireless Communications, attributing the bidirectional impact of each with a focus on visual SLAM (V-SLAM) integration. We provide an overview of key concepts related to wireless signal propagation, geometric channel modeling, and radio frequency (RF)-based localization and sensing. In addition to this, we show image processing techniques that can detect landmarks, proactively predicting optimal paths for wireless channels. Several dimensions are considered, including the prerequisites, techniques, background, and future directions and challenges of the intersection between SLAM and wireless communications. We analyze estimation and control approaches such as Bayesian filters, feature-based pose estimation, perception-aware motion control, spatial methods for signal processing such as vector fields, and key technological aspects. We expose techniques and items towards enabling a highly effective retrieval of the autonomous robot state. Among other interesting findings, we observe that monocular V-SLAM would benefit from RF relevant information, as the latter can serve as a proxy for the scale ambiguity resolution. Conversely, we find that wireless communications in the context of 5G and beyond can potentially benefit from visual odometry that is central in SLAM. Moreover, we examine other sources besides the camera for SLAM and describe the twofold relation with wireless communications. Finally, integrated solutions performing joint communications and SLAM appear to be in their infancy: theoretical and practical advancements are required to add higher-level localization and semantic perception capabilities to RF and multi-antenna technologies.