System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to predicting a presence of occluded objects from a robotic device. In one embodiment, a method includes, in response to acquiring sensor data about a surrounding environment, analyzing the sensor data to identify a perceived object in the surrounding environment by determining at least a class of the perceived object. The method includes determining a presence factor associated with the perceived object according to an observation model. The presence factor indicates a likelihood of an occluded object existing in an occluded region associated with the perceived object. The method includes controlling one or more systems of the robotic device according to the presence factor.