# DOOR-SLAM: Distributed, Online, and Outlier Resilient SLAM for Robotic Teams

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1909.12198 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.12198/

## Key facts

- Cited by 29 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 26 Sep 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 29 of 29)

- [Kimera-Multi: Robust, Distributed, Dense Metric-Semantic SLAM for Multi-Robot Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.14386/) (2021)
- [NeBula: Quest for Robotic Autonomy in Challenging Environments; TEAM CoSTAR at the DARPA Subterranean Challenge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.11470/) (2021)
- [CP-SLAM: Collaborative Neural Point-based SLAM System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.08013/) (2023)
- [Swarm-SLAM : Sparse Decentralized Collaborative Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Framework for Multi-Robot Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.06230/) (2023)
- [COVINS: Visual-Inertial SLAM for Centralized Collaboration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.05756/) (2021)
- [Beyond Robustness: A Taxonomy of Approaches towards Resilient Multi-Robot Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.12343/) (2021)
- [MAGiC-SLAM: Multi-Agent Gaussian Globally Consistent SLAM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.16785/) (2024)
- [MCN-SLAM: Multi-Agent Collaborative Neural SLAM with Hybrid Implicit Neural Scene Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.18678/) (2025)
- [DARE-SLAM: Degeneracy-Aware and Resilient Loop Closing in Perceptually-Degraded Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.05117/) (2021)
- [A Robot Web for Distributed Many-Device Localisation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.03314/) (2022)
- [UAVs Beneath the Surface: Cooperative Autonomy for Subterranean Search and Rescue in DARPA SubT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.08185/) (2022)
- [CLIPPER+: A Fast Maximal Clique Algorithm for Robust Global Registration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.15464/) (2024)
- [Leveraging BEV Representation for 360-degree Visual Place Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.13814/) (2023)
- [Distributed Visual-Inertial Cooperative Localization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.12770/) (2021)
- [COVINS-G: A Generic Back-end for Collaborative Visual-Inertial SLAM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.07147/) (2023)
- [Efficient and Distributed Large-Scale 3D Map Registration using Tomographic Features](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.19461/) (2024)
- [Dense Dynamic Scene Reconstruction and Camera Pose Estimation from Multi-View Videos](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.12064/) (2026)
- [G2G: Exploiting Intra-Group Geometry for Inter-Group Pose Estimation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.08284/) (2026)
- [A Real-Time Fusion Framework for Long-term Visual Localization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.09757/) (2022)
- [Multi-Robot Relative Pose Estimation in SE(2) with Observability Analysis: A Comparison of Extended Kalman Filtering and Robust Pose Graph Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.15313/) (2024)
- [SymboSLAM: Semantic Map Generation in a Multi-Agent System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.15504/) (2024)
- [Advancing Frontiers in SLAM: A Survey of Symbolic Representation and Human-Machine Teaming in Environmental Mapping](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.01398/) (2024)
- [Variable Time Step Reinforcement Learning for Robotic Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.00290/) (2024)
- [3D Reconstruction by Looking: Instantaneous Blind Spot Detector for Indoor SLAM through Mixed Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.12514/) (2024)
- [DVM-SLAM: Decentralized Visual Monocular Simultaneous Localization and Mapping for Multi-Agent Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.04126/) (2025)
- [When Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Meets Wireless Communications: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.06995/) (2026)
- [VORL-EXPLORE: A Hybrid Learning Planning Approach to Multi-Robot Exploration in Dynamic Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.07973/) (2026)
- [Edge-Assisted Multi-Robot Visual-Inertial SLAM with Efficient Communication](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.11085/) (2026)
- [MR-SLAM: Immersive Spatial Supervision for Multi-Robot Mapping via Mixed Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.16432/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

To achieve collaborative tasks, robots in a team need to have a shared understanding of the environment and their location within it. Distributed Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) offers a practical solution to localize the robots without relying on an external positioning system (e.g. GPS) and with minimal information exchange. Unfortunately, current distributed SLAM systems are vulnerable to perception outliers and therefore tend to use very conservative parameters for inter-robot place recognition. However, being too conservative comes at the cost of rejecting many valid loop closure candidates, which results in less accurate trajectory estimates. This paper introduces DOOR-SLAM, a fully distributed SLAM system with an outlier rejection mechanism that can work with less conservative parameters. DOOR-SLAM is based on peer-to-peer communication and does not require full connectivity among the robots. DOOR-SLAM includes two key modules: a pose graph optimizer combined with a distributed pairwise consistent measurement set maximization algorithm to reject spurious inter-robot loop closures; and a distributed SLAM front-end that detects inter-robot loop closures without exchanging raw sensor data. The system has been evaluated in simulations, benchmarking datasets, and field experiments, including tests in GPS-denied subterranean environments. DOOR-SLAM produces more inter-robot loop closures, successfully rejects outliers, and results in accurate trajectory estimates, while requiring low communication bandwidth. Full source code is available at https://github.com/MISTLab/DOOR-SLAM.git.