slam-toolbox-lifelong

Lifelong SLAM prevents unbounded map growth by trimming old, low-information nodes from the pose-graph. This keeps the map size manageable while allowing the robot to continue mapping and adapting to environmental changes over long durations.

Yes, you can pause and resume ROS2 SLAM mapping using serialize and deserialize workflows. This saves the current map to disk and loads the serialized map file later, enabling continued optimization across multiple sessions.

Lifelong mapping is a SLAM technique that maintains an evolving pose-graph by trimming stale data and updating previously built structure. You need it for long-duration deployments where the robot revisits areas and environmental changes occur.

To start lifelong SLAM with an existing map, launch the LifelongSlamToolbox and configure the map_file_name parameter. This deserializes your saved map, enabling continued optimization and map evolution from the previous state.

Yes, lifelong SLAM updates the current map when revisiting areas to reflect changes like moved furniture or opened doors. It preserves previously built structure while evolving the map to match the current environment.

Lifelong SLAM requires proper configuration of map_start_pose, thresholds, and solver settings to function correctly. It also depends on deserializing an existing map, meaning you must have a valid serialized map file to enable continued optimization.