NOVEL APPROACH FOR ROBOT PATH PLANNING BASED ON NUMERICAL ARTIFICIAL POTENTIAL FIELD AND GENETIC ALGORITHM

A novel approach for collision-free path planning of a multiple degree-of-freedom （DOF） articulated robot in a complex environment is proposed. Firstly, based on visual neighbor point （VNP）, a numerical artificial potential field is constructed in Cartesian space, which provides the heuristic information, effective distance to the goal and the motion direction for the motion of the robot joints. Secondly, a genetic algorithm, combined with the heuristic rules, is used in joint space to determine a series of contiguous configurations piecewise from initial configuration until the goal configuration is attained. A simulation shows that the method can not only handle issues on path planning of the articulated robots in environment with complex obstacles, but also improve the efficiency and quality of path planning.

Ant Colony Optimization with Potential Field Based on Grid Map for Mobile Robot Path Planning

For the mobile robot path planning under the complex environment,ant colony optimization with artificial potential field based on grid map is proposed to avoid traditional ant colony algorithm's poor convergence and local optimum.Firstly,the pheromone updating mechanism of ant colony is designed by a hybrid strategy of global map updating and local grids updating.Then,some angles between the vectors of artificial potential field and the orientations of current grid are introduced to calculate the visibility of eight-neighbor cells of cellular automata,which are adopted as ant colony's inspiring factor to calculate the transition probability based on the pseudo-random transition rule cellular automata.Finally,mobile robot dynamic path planning and the simulation experiments are completed by this algorithm,and the experimental results show that the method is feasible and effective.

Simulation research for mobile robot path planning based on improved artificial potential field method recommended by the AsiaSim

Mobile robot path planning is an important research branch in the field of mobile robots.The main disadvantage of the traditional artificial potential field(APF)method is prone to local minima problems.Improved artificial potential field(IAPF)method is presented in this paper to solve the problem in the traditional APF method for robot path planning in different conditions.We introduce the distance between the robot and the target point to the function of the original repulsive force field and change the original direction of the repulsive force to avoid the trap problem caused by the local minimum point.The IAPF method is suitable for mobile robot path planning in the complicated environment.Simulation and experiment results at the robot platform illustrated the superiority of the modified IAPF method.

Multi-Behavior Fusion Based Potential Field Method for Path Planning of Unmanned Surface Vessel

The problem of the unmanned surface vessel (USV) path planning in static and dynamic obstacle environments is addressed in this paper. Multi-behavior fusion based potential field method is proposed, which contains three behaviors: goal-seeking, boundary-memory following and dynamic-obstacle avoidance. Then, different activation conditions are designed to determine the current behavior. Meanwhile, information on the positions, velocities and the equation of motion for obstacles are detected and calculated by sensor data. Besides, memory information is introduced into the boundary following behavior to enhance cognition capability for the obstacles, and avoid local minima problem caused by the potential field method. Finally, the results of theoretical analysis and simulation show that the collision-free path can be generated for USV within different obstacle environments, and further validated the performance and effectiveness of the presented strategy.

Collision avoidance planning in multi-robot system based on improved artificial potential field and rules

For real-time and distributed features of multi-robot system,the strategy of combining the improved artificial potential field method and the rules based on priority is proposed to study the collision avoidance planning in multi-robot systems. The improved artificial potential field based on simulated annealing algorithm satisfactorily overcomes the drawbacks of traditional artificial potential field method,so that robots can find a local collision-free path in the complex environment. According to the movement vector trail of robots,collisions between robots can be detected,thereby the collision avoidance rules can be obtained. Coordination between robots by the priority based rules improves the real-time property of multi-robot system. The combination of these two methods can help a robot to find a collision-free path from a starting point to the goal quickly in an environment with many obstacles. The feasibility of the proposed method is validated in the VC-based simulated environment.

Multi-step Reinforcement Learning Algorithm of Mobile Robot Path Planning Based on Virtual Potential Field

A algorithm of dynamic multi-step reinforcement learning based on virtual potential field path planning is proposed in this paper. Firstly, it is constructed the virtual potential field according to the known information. And then in view of Q learning algorithm of the QekT algorithm, a multi-step reinforcement learning algorithm is proposed in this paper. It can update current Q value used of future dynamic k steps according to the current environment status. At the same time, the convergence is analyzed. Finally the simulation experiments are done. It shows that the proposed algorithm and convergence and so on are more efficiency than similar algorithms.

Solution to reinforcement learning problems with artificial potential field

A novel method was designed to solve reinforcement learning problems with artificial potential field.Firstly a reinforcement learning problem was transferred to a path planning problem by using artificial potential field(APF),which was a very appropriate method to model a reinforcement learning problem.Secondly,a new APF algorithm was proposed to overcome the local minimum problem in the potential field methods with a virtual water-flow concept.The performance of this new method was tested by a gridworld problem named as key and door maze.The experimental results show that within 45 trials,good and deterministic policies are found in almost all simulations.In comparison with WIERING's HQ-learning system which needs 20 000 trials for stable solution,the proposed new method can obtain optimal and stable policy far more quickly than HQ-learning.Therefore,the new method is simple and effective to give an optimal solution to the reinforcement learning problem.

An eikonal equation based path planning method using polygon decomposition and curve evolution

Path planning is a key technique of autonomous navigation for robots,and the velocity field is an important part.Constructing velocity field in a complex workspace is still challenging.In this paper,an inner normal guided segmentation algorithm in a complex polygon is proposed to decompose the complex workspace in this paper.The artificial potential field model based on probability theory is then used to calculate the potential field of the decomposed workspace,and the velocity field is obtained by utilizing the potential field of this workspace.Path optimization is implemented by curve evolution,during which the internal force generated in the smoothing process of the initial path by a mean filter and the external force is obtained from the gradient of the workspace potential field.The parameter selection principle is deduced by analyzing the influence of several parameters on the path length and smoothness.Simulation results show that the designed polygon decomposition algorithm can effectively segment complex workspace and that the path optimization algorithm can shorten and smoothen paths.

New multi-UAV formation keeping method based on improved artificial potential field

Formation keeping is important for multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(multi-UAV)to fully play their roles in cooperative combats and improve their mission success rate.However,in practical applications,it is difficult to achieve formation keeping precisely and obstacle avoidance autonomously at the same time.This paper proposes a joint control method based on robust H∞ controller and improved Artificial Potential Field(APF)method.Firstly,we build a formation flight model based on the “Leader-Follower”structure and design a robust H∞ controller with three channels X,Y and Z to eliminate dynamic uncertainties,so as to realize high-precision formation keeping.Secondly,to fulfill obstacle avoidance efficiently in complex situations where UAVs fly at high speed with high inertia,this paper comes up with the improved APF method with deformation factor considered.The judgment criterion is proposed and applied to ensure flight safety.In the end,the simulation results show that the designed controller is effective with the formation keeping a high accuracy and in the meantime,it enables UAVs to avoid obstacles autonomously and recover the formation rapidly when coming close to obstacles.Therefore,the method proposed here boasts good engineering application prospect.

RoboCup比赛环境下足球机器人路径规划研究

RoboCup中型组足球机器人比赛具有高度的对抗性和实时性.比赛中机器人需要针对不同的比赛态势进行角色切换和任务选择.在这种环境下,应用传统人工势场或一般改进型人工势场的路径规划方法都无法得到令人满意的结果.将障碍物与机器人之间的相对速度矢量以及目标与机器人之间的相对速度矢量分别引入人工势场法中,对传统的势场函数进行了改进;并根据机器人的不同角色和任务,采用模糊逻辑方法对势场函数进行修正,提出一种处理多角色多任务环境的改进型人工势场法机器人路径规划方法.仿真试验和实际应用验证了此算法在足球机器人比赛系统中的可行性.

Pseudo minimum translational distance between convex polyhedra (Ⅱ)——Robot collision-free path planning

By using the pseudo minimum translational distance between convexobjects, this paper presents two algorithms for robot path planning. First, an analytically tractable potential field is defined in the robot configuration space, and the concept of virtual obstacles is introduced and incorporated in the path planner to handle the local minima of the potential function. Second, based on the Lipschitz continuity and differentiability of the pseudo minimum translational distance, the flexible-trajectory approach is implemented. Simulation examples are given to show the effectiveness and efficiency of the path planners for both mobile robots and manipulators.

LSDA-APF:A Local Obstacle Avoidance Algorithm for Unmanned Surface Vehicles Based on 5G Communication Environment

In view of the complex marine environment of navigation,especially in the case of multiple static and dynamic obstacles,the traditional obstacle avoidance algorithms applied to unmanned surface vehicles(USV)are prone to fall into the trap of local optimization.Therefore,this paper proposes an improved artificial potential field(APF)algorithm,which uses 5G communication technology to communicate between the USV and the control center.The algorithm introduces the USV discrimination mechanism to avoid the USV falling into local optimization when the USV encounter different obstacles in different scenarios.Considering the various scenarios between the USV and other dynamic obstacles such as vessels in the process of performing tasks,the algorithm introduces the concept of dynamic artificial potential field.For the multiple obstacles encountered in the process of USV sailing,based on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea(COLREGS),the USV determines whether the next step will fall into local optimization through the discriminationmechanism.The local potential field of the USV will dynamically adjust,and the reverse virtual gravitational potential field will be added to prevent it from falling into the local optimization and avoid collisions.The objective function and cost function are designed at the same time,so that the USV can smoothly switch between the global path and the local obstacle avoidance.The simulation results show that the improved APF algorithm proposed in this paper can successfully avoid various obstacles in the complex marine environment,and take navigation time and economic cost into account.

改进A^(*)算法和人工势场法的路径规划

A^(*)算法存在折线路径多和搜索节点多的问题,人工势场(artificial potential field,APF)法存在局部最优和不可到达的问题,针对两种算法存在的问题进行了研究。利用欧氏距离与投影距离提出一种新的混合式启发函数,依据该函数对A^(*)算法的流程进行改进,减少A^(*)算法的搜索节点,提高搜索效率。利用新A^(*)算法生成的最优节点作为APF算法的局部目标点,辅助机器人摆脱局部最优点;通过加入机器人和目标点的位置关系改进势场函数,修改斥力的增益,优化斥力的生成方向。在改进的基础上将两种算法融合提出一种新的算法,利用APF法的势场函数引导A^(*)算法的搜索。从路径长度、避障效果、迭代次数对改进算法进行对比分析,仿真结果表明,提出的改进算法搜索效率高,实现避障的同时保证计算的路径最优。

基于改进人工势场法的AUV全局路径规划

目的为了解决AUV(autonomous underwater vehicle)在传统人工势场法路径规划过程中存在的碰撞、目标不可达和局部极小值等问题,方法提出一种基于改进人工势场法(improved artificial potential field,IAPF)的AUV全局路径规划算法。首先为解决引力过大导致的碰撞问题,引入作用阈限制目标点的吸引力;然后在斥力场添加距离修正因子修正斥力函数,防止目标点离障碍物过近时,由于斥力大于引力引起目标不可达现象,同时考虑到障碍物大小的不等性会影响斥力的作用范围,对障碍物的最小安全距离进行修改;最后在此基础上添加外力,利用外力和势场力的共同作用使AUV沿切线方向行驶,从而摆脱局部极小点或陷阱区域。结果仿真实验结果表明,本文算法能够规划出一条最优路径,与同类算法相比,本文算法运行时间短,成功率高。结论本文提出的基于改进人工势场法的AUV全局路径规划算法,通过引入作用阈、距离修正因子、最小安全距离修正以及外力作用,有效解决了传统人工势场法在AUV路径规划中存在的碰撞、目标不可达和局部极小值等问题。

改进人工势场引导的双向扩展随机树路径规划算法

针对地面移动机器人在复杂环境之下要求规划路径实时性强、路线平滑度高、避障精确完备等需求,在快速扩展随机树算法(RRT)的基础之上,提出一种由改进人工势场法(APF)引导的双向扩展随机树算法(APF-Bi-RRT^(*))。首先,在每次迭代的过程之中两棵随机树同时分别从起始点和目标点进行扩展,以加快算法收敛速度;其次,在算法随机树生长方向上,引入目标偏置策略来优化随机子节点的选取,并在随机树和障碍物中加入人工势场分量,限制路径方向选择的随机性,改进算法克服引力和斥力过大导致陷入局部最优值或目标不可达的问题;最后,在形成锯齿型规划路径之上应用一种采样优化和关键节点平滑策略,进一步缩短和平滑原路径的总距离。对比实验结果证明,该算法既克服了传统随机树算法的节点盲目扩展的问题,又兼顾了生成路径的效率和平滑性,与目标偏置RRT算法相比,在规划路径长度上减少了9.7%左右,在运行时间上缩短了65.3%左右,在算法迭代次数上减少了78.2%左右。

基于改进人工势场算法的煤矿井下机器人路径规划

路径规划是煤矿机器人在煤矿井下狭小巷道空间中应用亟待解决的关键技术之一。针对传统人工势场(APF)算法在狭小巷道环境中规划出的路径可能离巷道边界过近,以及在障碍物附近易出现目标不可达和路径振荡等问题,提出了一种基于改进APF算法的煤矿机器人路径规划方法。参考《煤矿安全规程》有关规定建立了巷道两帮边界势场,将机器人行驶路径尽量规划在巷道中间,以提高机器人行驶安全性;在障碍物斥力势场中引入调节因子,以解决目标不可达问题;引入转角限制系数以平滑规划出的路径,减少振荡,提高规划效率,保证规划路径的安全性。仿真结果表明:当目标点离障碍物很近时,改进APF算法可成功规划出能够抵达目标点的路径;改进APF算法规划周期数较传统算法平均减少了14.48%,转向角度变化累计值平均减少了87.41%,曲率绝对值之和平均减少了78.09%,表明改进APF算法规划的路径更加平滑,路径长度更短,规划效率和安全性更高。

改进势场蚁群算法优化路径自动规划

针对势场与蚁群联合的自主路径规划存在局部最优解、初始路径选择随机导致效率不高及环境适应性差等问题,提出了基于自适应域和参数自适应设置的改进算法。算法首先基于自适应域改进势场目标不可达问题,并过滤震荡点以平滑路径;其次,通过状态转移函数和信息素更新等相关参数的自适应设置,提高算法在收敛效率和搜索能力上的平衡性,进而提高对障碍环境的适应性。实验结果表明,所提算法能够有效避免局部最优、目标不可达和复杂环境的适应性问题,在路径长度和效率上优于实验采用的已有算法,从而验证了算法的有效性。

室内环境下改进的混合路径规划算法

为了解决室内非结构化复杂环境下的机器人在路径规划时常常出现目标点不可达、规划过程产生折角偏移、规划过程无法及时规避动态障碍物等问题,提出一种改进的混合室内路径规划算法。该算法将改进的全局路径规划与改进的局部路径规划算法相融合。首先,优化传统A-Star算法的启发因子,减少搜索范围和节点,再通过角平分线切点法对传统A-Star算法进行平滑处理。其次,综合路径与环境信息,采用改进的人工势场算法进行局部路径规划,通过修正斥力场参数来解决目标点不可达问题,同时构造了动态的势力场函数,使其具备决解决动态障碍物的能力。最后,对混合算法进行实际环境的路径规划实验,比起传统的混合算法文中提出的混合算法在路径规划长度上减少11.4%,运行时间减少11.1%,少经过34个冗余节点,结果表明该融合算法可以有效解决室内非结构化复杂的路径规划问题。