Symbolic navigation with a generic map

We describe a robot system that can navigate in indoor environments, such as office buildings and laboratories, without having a detailed map of its environment and which can accept symbolic commands such as "go through the door on the left of the first desk on your right" (expressed in a formal language). Such a system can operate in different instances of similar environments and does not require the effort of constructing a detailed map of the environment. It is also not sensitive to changes in the environment such as those caused by moving furniture. It uses generic representations of the objects in the environment such as walls, desks and doors to recognize them for the purposes of landmark detection and avoids obstacles which may not be modeled explicitly.