Heuristic Expanding Disconnected Graph:A Rapid Path Planning Method for Mobile Robots

Existing mobile robots mostly use graph search algorithms for path planning,which suffer from relatively low planning efficiency owing to high redundancy and large computational complexity.Due to the limitations of the neighborhood search strategy,the robots could hardly obtain the most optimal global path.A global path planning algorithm,denoted as EDG*,is proposed by expanding nodes using a well-designed expanding disconnected graph operator(EDG)in this paper.Firstly,all obstacles are marked and their corners are located through the map pre-processing.Then,the EDG operator is designed to find points in non-obstruction areas to complete the rapid expansion of disconnected nodes.Finally,the EDG*heuristic iterative algorithm is proposed.It selects the candidate node through a specific valuation function and realizes the node expansion while avoiding collision with a minimum offset.Path planning experiments were conducted in a typical indoor environment and on the public dataset CSM.The result shows that the proposed EDG*reduced the planning time by more than 90%and total length of paths reduced by more than 4.6%.Compared to A*,Dijkstra and JPS,EDG*does not show an exponential explosion effect in map size.The EDG*showed better performance in terms of path smoothness,and collision avoidance.This shows that the EDG*algorithm proposed in this paper can improve the efficiency of path planning and enhance path quality.

Double BP Q-Learning Algorithm for Local Path Planning of Mobile Robot

Aiming at the dimension disaster problem, poor model generalization ability and deadlock problem in special obstacles environment caused by the increase of state information in the local path planning process of mobile robot, this paper proposed a Double BP Q-learning algorithm based on the fusion of Double Q-learning algorithm and BP neural network. In order to solve the dimensional disaster problem, two BP neural network fitting value functions with the same network structure were used to replace the two Q value tables in Double Q-Learning algorithm to solve the problem that the Q value table cannot store excessive state information. By adding the mechanism of priority experience replay and using the parameter transfer to initialize the model parameters in different environments, it could accelerate the convergence rate of the algorithm, improve the learning efficiency and the generalization ability of the model. By designing specific action selection strategy in special environment, the deadlock state could be avoided and the mobile robot could reach the target point. Finally, the designed Double BP Q-learning algorithm was simulated and verified, and the probability of mobile robot reaching the target point in the parameter update process was compared with the Double Q-learning algorithm under the same condition of the planned path length. The results showed that the model trained by the improved Double BP Q-learning algorithm had a higher success rate in finding the optimal or sub-optimal path in the dense discrete environment, besides, it had stronger model generalization ability, fewer redundant sections, and could reach the target point without entering the deadlock zone in the special obstacles environment.

Novel Algorithm for Mobile Robot Path Planning in Constrained Environment

This paper presents a development of a novel path planning algorithm, called Generalized Laser simulator (GLS), for solving the mobilerobot path planning problem in a two-dimensional map with the presence ofconstraints. This approach gives the possibility to find the path for a wheelmobile robot considering some constraints during the robot movement inboth known and unknown environments. The feasible path is determinedbetween the start and goal positions by generating wave of points in alldirection towards the goal point with adhering to constraints. In simulation,the proposed method has been tested in several working environments withdifferent degrees of complexity. The results demonstrated that the proposedmethod is able to generate efficiently an optimal collision-free path. Moreover,the performance of the proposed method was compared with the A-star andlaser simulator (LS) algorithms in terms of path length, computational timeand path smoothness. The results revealed that the proposed method hasshortest path length, less computational time and the best smooth path. Asan average, GLS is faster than A∗ and LS by 7.8 and 5.5 times, respectivelyand presents a path shorter than A∗ and LS by 1.2 and 1.5 times. In orderto verify the performance of the developed method in dealing with constraints, an experimental study was carried out using a Wheeled Mobile Robot(WMR) platform in labs and roads. The experimental work investigates acomplete autonomous WMR path planning in the lab and road environmentsusing a live video streaming. Local maps were built using data from a live video streaming with real-time image processing to detect segments of theanalogous-road in lab or real-road environments. The study shows that theproposed method is able to generate shortest path and best smooth trajectoryfrom start to goal points in comparison with laser simulator.

Improved Dijkstra Algorithm for Mobile Robot Path Planning and Obstacle Avoidance

Optimal path planning avoiding obstacles is among the most attractive applications of mobile robots(MRs)in both research and education.In this paper,an optimal collision-free algorithm is designed and implemented practically based on an improved Dijkstra algorithm.To achieve this research objectives,first,the MR obstacle-free environment is modeled as a diagraph including nodes,edges and weights.Second,Dijkstra algorithm is used offline to generate the shortest path driving the MR from a starting point to a target point.During its movement,the robot should follow the previously obtained path and stop at each node to test if there is an obstacle between the current node and the immediately following node.For this aim,the MR was equipped with an ultrasonic sensor used as obstacle detector.If an obstacle is found,the MR updates its diagraph by excluding the corresponding node.Then,Dijkstra algorithm runs on the modified diagraph.This procedure is repeated until reaching the target point.To verify the efficiency of the proposed approach,a simulation was carried out on a hand-made MR and an environment including 9 nodes,19 edges and 2 obstacles.The obtained optimal path avoiding obstacles has been transferred into motion control and implemented practically using line tracking sensors.This study has shown that the improved Dijkstra algorithm can efficiently solve optimal path planning in environments including obstacles and that STEAM-based MRs are efficient cost-effective tools to practically implement the designed algorithm.

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.

Metaheuristic Optimization for Mobile Robot Navigation Based on Path Planning

Recently,the path planning problem may be considered one of the most interesting researched topics in autonomous robotics.That is why finding a safe path in a cluttered environment for a mobile robot is a significant requisite.A promising route planning for mobile robots on one side saves time and,on the other side,reduces the wear and tear on the robot,saving the capital investment.Numerous route planning methods for the mobile robot have been developed and applied.According to our best knowledge,no method offers an optimum solution among the existing methods.Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO),a numerical optimization method based on the mobility of virtual particles in a multidimensional space,is considered one of the best algorithms for route planning under constantly changing environmental circumstances.Among the researchers,reactive methods are increasingly common and extensively used for the training of neural networks in order to have efficient route planning for mobile robots.This paper proposes a PSO Weighted Grey Wolf Optimization(PSOWGWO)algorithm.PSOWGWO is a hybrid algorithm based on enhanced Grey Wolf Optimization(GWO)with weights.In order to measure the statistical efficiency of the proposed algorithm,Wilcoxon rank-sum and ANOVA statistical tests are applied.The experimental results demonstrate a 25%to 45%enhancement in terms of Area Under Curve(AUC).Moreover,superior performance in terms of data size,path planning time,and accuracy is demonstrated over other state-of-the-art techniques.

A review:On path planning strategies for navigation of mobile robot

This paper presents the rigorous study of mobile robot navigation techniques used so far.The step by step investigations of classical and reactive approaches are made here to understand the development of path planning strategies in various environmental conditions and to identify research gap.The classical approaches such as cell decomposition(CD),roadmap approach(RA),artificial potential field(APF);reactive approaches such as genetic algorithm(GA),fuzzy logic(FL),neural network(NN),firefly algorithm(FA),particle swarm optimization(PSO),ant colony optimization(ACO),bacterial foraging optimization(BFO),artificial bee colony(ABC),cuckoo search(CS),shuffled frog leaping algorithm(SFLA)and other miscellaneous algorithms(OMA)are considered for study.The navigation over static and dynamic condition is analyzed(for single and multiple robot systems)and it has been observed that the reactive approaches are more robust and perform well in all terrain when compared to classical approaches.It is also observed that the reactive approaches are used to improve the performance of the classical approaches as a hybrid algorithm.Hence,reactive approaches are more popular and widely used for path planning of mobile robot.The paper concludes with tabular data and charts comparing the frequency of individual navigational strategies which can be used for specific application in robotics.

Ant Colony System Algorithm for Real-Time Globally Optimal Path Planning of Mobile Robots

为活动机器人计划的即时全球性最佳的路径的一个新奇方法基于蚂蚁殖民地系统(交流) 被建议算法。这个方法包括三步：第一步正在利用 MAKLINK 图理论建立活动机器人的空间模型，第二步正在利用 Dijkstra 算法发现一条非最优的没有碰撞的路径，并且第三步正在利用 ACS 算法优化非最优的路径的地点以便产生全球性最佳的路径。建议方法是有效的并且能在即时路径被使用活动机器人计划的计算机模拟实验表演的结果。建议方法比与优秀人材模型一起基于基因算法计划方法的路径处于集中速度，答案变化，动态集中行为，和计算效率有更好的性能，这被验证了。

Experimental study of path planning problem using EMCOA for a holonomic mobile robot

In this paper,a comparative study of the path planning problem using evolutionary algorithms,in comparison with classical methods such as the A*algorithm,is presented for a holonomic mobile robot.The configured navigation system,which consists of the integration of sensors sources,map formatting,global and local path planners,and the base controller,aims to enable the robot to follow the shortest smooth path delicately.Grid-based mapping is used for scoring paths efficiently,allowing the determination of collision-free trajectories from the initial to the target position.This work considers the evolutionary algorithms,the mutated cuckoo optimization algorithm(MCOA)and the genetic algorithm(GA),as a global planner to find the shortest safe path among others.A non-uniform motion coefficient is introduced for MCOA in order to increase the performance of this algorithm.A series of experiments are accomplished and analyzed to confirm the performance of the global planner implemented on a holonomic mobile robot.The results of the experiments show the capacity of the planner framework with respect to the path planning problem under various obstacle layouts.

Mobile robot path planning based on adaptive bacterial foraging algorithm

The utilization of biomimicry of bacterial foraging strategy was considered to develop an adaptive control strategy for mobile robot, and a bacterial foraging approach was proposed for robot path planning. In the proposed model, robot that mimics the behavior of bacteria is able to determine an optimal collision-free path between a start and a target point in the environment surrounded by obstacles. In the simulation, two test scenarios of static environment with different number obstacles were adopted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. Simulation results show that the robot which reflects the bacterial foraging behavior can adapt to complex environments in the planned trajectories with both satisfactory accuracy and stability.

Global optimal path planning for mobile robot based onimproved Dijkstra algorithm and ant system algorithm

A novel method of global optimal path planning for mobile robot was proposed based on the improved Dijkstra algorithm and ant system algorithm. This method includes three steps: the first step is adopting the MAKLINK graph theory to establish the free space model of the mobile robot, the second step is adopting the improved Dijkstra algorithm to find out a sub-optimal collision-free path, and the third step is using the ant system algorithm to adjust and optimize the location of the sub-optimal path so as to generate the global optimal path for the mobile robot. The computer simulation experiment was carried out and the results show that this method is correct and effective. The comparison of the results confirms that the proposed method is better than the hybrid genetic algorithm in the global optimal path planning.

Cooperative co-evolution based distributed path planning of multiple mobile robots

This paper proposes novel multiple-mobile-robot collision avoidance path planning based on cooperative co-evolution,which can be executed fully distributed and in parallel. A real valued co-evolutionary algorithm is developed to coordinate the movement of multiple robots in 2D world, avoiding C-space or grid net searching. The collision avoidance is achieved by cooperatively co-evolving segments of paths and the time interval to pass them. Methods for constraint handling, which are developed for evolutionary algorithm, make the path planning easier. The effectiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated on a number of 2Dpath planning problems.

On-line real-time path planning of mobile robots in dynamic uncertain environment

A new path planning method for mobile robots in globally unknown environment with moving obstacles is pre- sented. With an autoregressive (AR) model to predict the future positions of moving obstacles, and the predicted position taken as the next position of moving obstacles, a motion path in dynamic uncertain environment is planned by means of an on-line real-time path planning technique based on polar coordinates in which the desirable direction angle is taken into consideration as an optimization index. The effectiveness, feasibility, high stability, perfect performance of obstacle avoidance, real-time and optimization capability are demonstrated by simulation examples.

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.

Extended Dyna-Q Algorithm for Path Planning of Mobile Robots

This paper presents an extended Dyna-Q algorithm to improve efficiency of the standard Dyna-Q algorithm.In the first episodes of the standard Dyna-Q algorithm,the agent travels blindly to find a goal position.To overcome this weakness,our approach is to use a maximum likelihood model of all state-action pairs to choose actions and update Q-values in the first few episodes.Our algorithm is compared with one-step Q-learning algorithm and the standard Dyna-Q algorithm for the path planning problem in maze environments.Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is more efficient than the one-step Q-learning algorithm as well as the standard Dyna-Q algorithm,especially in the large environment of states.

Intelligent Path Planning of Vision-Based Mobile Robot with Fuzzy Approach

The path planning problem for intelligent mobile robots involves two main problems:the represent of task environment including obstacles and the development of a strategy to determine a collision-free route.In this paper, new approaches have been developed to solve these problems.The first problem was solved using the fuzzy system approach,which represent obstacles with a circle.The other problem was overcome through the use of a strategy selector,which chooses the best strategy between velocity control strategy and direction control strategy.

A path planning method for robot patrol inspection in chemical industrial parks

Safety patrol inspection in chemical industrial parks is a complex multi-objective task with multiple degrees of freedom.Traditional pointer instruments with advantages like high reliability and strong adaptability to harsh environment,are widely applied in such parks.However,they rely on manual readings which have problems like heavy patrol workload,high labor cost,high false positives/negatives and poor timeliness.To address the above problems,this study proposes a path planning method for robot patrol in chemical industrial parks,where a path optimization model based on improved iterated local search and random variable neighborhood descent(ILS-RVND)algorithm is established by integrating the actual requirements of patrol tasks in chemical industrial parks.Further,the effectiveness of the model and algorithm is verified by taking real park data as an example.The results show that compared with GA and ILS-RVND,the improved algorithm reduces quantification cost by about 24%and saves patrol time by about 36%.Apart from shortening the patrol time of robots,optimizing their patrol path and reducing their maintenance loss,the proposed algorithm also avoids the untimely patrol of robots and enhances the safety factor of equipment.

Artificial Potential Field Incorporated Deep-Q-Network Algorithm for Mobile Robot Path Prediction

Autonomous navigation of mobile robots is a challenging task that requires them to travel from their initial position to their destination without collision in an environment.Reinforcement Learning methods enable a state action function in mobile robots suited to their environment.During trial-and-error interaction with its surroundings,it helps a robot tofind an ideal behavior on its own.The Deep Q Network(DQN)algorithm is used in TurtleBot 3(TB3)to achieve the goal by successfully avoiding the obstacles.But it requires a large number of training iterations.This research mainly focuses on a mobility robot’s best path prediction utilizing DQN and the Artificial Potential Field(APF)algorithms.First,a TB3 Waffle Pi DQN is built and trained to reach the goal.Then the APF shortest path algorithm is incorporated into the DQN algorithm.The proposed planning approach is compared with the standard DQN method in a virtual environment based on the Robot Operation System(ROS).The results from the simulation show that the combination is effective for DQN and APF gives a better optimal path and takes less time when compared to the conventional DQN algo-rithm.The performance improvement rate of the proposed DQN+APF in comparison with DQN in terms of the number of successful targets is attained by 88%.The performance of the proposed DQN+APF in comparison with DQN in terms of average time is achieved by 0.331 s.The performance of the proposed DQN+APF in comparison with DQN average rewards in which the positive goal is attained by 85%and the negative goal is attained by-90%.

A review of mobile robot motion planning methods:from classical motion planning workflows to reinforcement learning-based architectures

Motion planning is critical to realize the autonomous operation of mobile robots.As the complexity and randomness of robot application scenarios increase,the planning capability of the classical hierarchical motion planners is challenged.With the development of machine learning,the deep reinforcement learning(DRL)-based motion planner has gradually become a research hotspot due to its several advantageous feature.The DRL-based motion planner is model-free and does not rely on the prior structured map.Most importantly,the DRL-based motion planner achieves the unification of the global planner and the local planner.In this paper,we provide a systematic review of various motion planning methods.Firstly,we summarize the representative and state-of-the-art works for each submodule of the classical motion planning architecture and analyze their performance features.Then,we concentrate on summarizing reinforcement learning(RL)-based motion planning approaches,including motion planners combined with RL improvements,map-free RL-based motion planners,and multi-robot cooperative planning methods.Finally,we analyze the urgent challenges faced by these mainstream RLbased motion planners in detail,review some state-of-the-art works for these issues,and propose suggestions for future research.