Training-free probability models for whole-image based place recognition

Whole-image descriptors such as GIST have been used successfully for persistent place recognition when combined with temporal filtering or sequential filtering techniques. However, whole-image descriptor localization systems often apply a heuristic rather than a probabilistic approach to place recognition, requiring substantial environmental-specific tuning prior to deployment. In this paper we present a novel online solution that uses statistical approaches to calculate place recognition likelihoods for whole-image descriptors, without requiring either environmental tuning or pre-training. Using a real world benchmark dataset, we show that this method creates distributions appropriate to a specific environment in an online manner. Our method performs comparably to FAB-MAP in raw place recognition performance, and integrates into a state of the art probabilistic mapping system to provide superior performance to whole-image methods that are not based on true probability distributions. The method provides a principled means for combining the powerful change-invariant properties of whole-image descriptors with probabilistic back-end mapping systems without the need for prior training or system tuning.