“…Fueled by the advances in deep learning, considerable effort has been put towards developing algorithms utilizing RGB and RGB-D data for free space identification and, subsequently, path planning and obstacle avoidance ( Li and Birchfield, 2010 ; Zhao et al, 2018 ; Seichter et al, 2021 ). Deep learning-based methods can be used stand-alone to reduce costs compared to a LiDAR sensor suite ( Messiou et al, 2022 ; Dang and Bui, 2023 ), or as a supervising method to improve the perception capabilities of mobile robots ( Juel et al, 2018 ; Liu et al, 2021 ; Arapis et al, 2023 ). Despite these advancements, certain challenges persist, including segmenting free space under varying floor conditions and further reducing computational requirements for real-time applications.…”