Velocity planning for a mobile robot to track a moving target — a potential field approach

Potential field method has been widely used for mobile robot path planning, but mostly in a static environment where the target and the obstacles are stationary. The path planning result is normally the direction of the robot motion. In this paper, the potential field method is applied for both path and speed planning, or the velocity planning, for a mobile robot in a dynamic environment where the target and the obstacles are moving. The robot’s planned velocity is determined by relative velocities as well as relative positions among robot, obstacles and targets. The implementation factors such as maximum linear and angular speed of the robot are also considered. The proposed approach guarantees that the robot tracks the moving target while avoiding moving obstacles. Simulation studies are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

基于模糊人工势场法的智能全向车路径规划

针对于移动机器人在传统人工势场法路径规划中易于陷入局部最小点而无法抵达目标点的问题,同时考虑到实际环境中人工势场法相关参数的不确定性,提出了一种基于模糊人工势场法的动态路径规划方法。借助于专家经验进行模糊决策,调整移动机器人在各个时刻的合力大小和方向,进而解决斥力常数、引力方向偏角以及机器人行驶速度的不确定性问题。为了验证该方法的有效性,在智能全向车平台进行了应用,结果表明,智能全向车运动轨迹平滑,避免了实际应用中的震荡问题。     

基于向量场的移动机器人动态路径规划

由于简洁、高效等优点,人工势场法已应用于自主移动机器人的在线实时路径规划,并受到广泛关注.目前,人工势场法在处理静态环境、动态匀速环境下的路径规划方面已有许多成果,但是,机器人在全变速环境下进行在线实时路径规划时,会出现路径冗余、避碰不及等现象.为此,将目标关于机器人的相对加速度因素引入引力势场函数中;在斥力势场函数的基础上融合避碰预测、减速避障策略;最终,机器人能够避免大量无谓避障,当与障碍物相对速度较大时能提前避障,且快速跟踪到目标.仿真结果验证了所提方法的有效性.     

Dynamic Motion Planning for Mobile Robots Using Potential Field Method

The potential field method is widely used for autonomous mobile robot path planning due to its elegant mathematical analysis and simplicity. However, most researches have been focused on solving the motion planning problem in a stationary environment where both targets and obstacles are stationary. This paper proposes a new potential field method for motion planning of mobile robots in a dynamic environment where the target and the obstacles are moving. Firstly, the new potential function and the corresponding virtual force are defined. Then, the problem of local minima is discussed. Finally, extensive computer simulations and hardware experiments are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the dynamic motion planning schemes based on the new potential field method.     

Fuzzy Logic Based Behavior Fusion for Navigation of an Intelligent Mobile Robot

This paper presents a new method for behavior fusion control of a mobile robot in uncertain environments.Using behavior fusion by fuzzy logic,a mobile robot is able to directly execute its motion according to range information about environments,acquired by ultrasonic sensors,without the need for trajectory planning.Based on low-level behavior control,an efficient strategy for integrating high-level global planning for robot motion can be formulated,since,in most applications,some information on environments is prior knowledge.A global planner,therefore,only to generate some subgoal positions rather than exact geometric paths.Because such subgoals can be easily removed from or added into the plannes,this strategy reduces computational time for global planning and is flexible for replanning in dynamic environments.Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed strategy can be applied to robot motion in complex and dynamic environments.     

移动机器人动态人工势场路径规划方法研究

针对传统人工势场法在多障碍物环境中进行路径规划存在局部极小值,以及动态环境中移动机器人无法实时路径规划等问题,提出一种动态模糊控制的改进人工势场法,通过在势场力函数中引入速度矢量项,并采用模糊控制方法实时调节斥力场系数,从而实现在动态多障碍物的环境下机器人快速、实时、自适应的路径规划.仿真结果表明,该方法有效可行,在典型位置关系及特殊运动状态下均可获得良好的路径规划性能.

Abstract：

For traditional artificial potential field (APF) method,the local minima problem exists and can not satisfy the requirement of real-time for path planning of mobile robots in the multi-obstacle dynamic environment. A new APF method based on dynamic fuzzy control is proposed in this paper. The potential field force function is modified by introducing the velocity vector. The coefficients of potential field of repulsive force are adjusted by fuzzy control method. A fast real-time self-adaptive path planning method with dynamic multi-obstacle is realized. The simulation results show that the method is effective and feasible, and can get much better performance of path planning in typical location relationship and special motion relationship.     

Dynamic control of redundant manipulators using the artificial potential field approach with time scaling

This paper proposes a new method for the dynamic control of redundant manipulators via the artificial potential field approach. In the artificial potential field approach, the goal is represented by an artificial attractive potential field and the obstacles by corresponding repulsive field, so that the trajectory to the target can be associated with the unique flow-line of the gradient field through the initial position and can be generated via a flow-line tracking process. This approach is suitable for real-time motion planning because of its simplicity and smaller computational time than other methods based on global information about the task space. However, little attention has been paid to the control of the dynamic behavior of the trajectories generated. The proposed method is based on the artificial potential field approach with a combination of a time-scale transformation and a time-base generator which works as a time-scale compressor and can control the dynamic behavior of the robot without any change in the form of the designed controller itself. It can also be applied to the dynamic motion planning problem of redundant manipulators. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by computer simulations for a three-joint planar manipulator. This work was presented, in part, at the Third International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 19–21, 1998     

Navigation integration of a mobile robot in dynamic environments

This article presents a design and experimental study of navigation integration of an intelligent mobile robot in dynamic environments. The proposed integration architecture is based on the virtual‐force concept, by which each navigation resource is assumed to exert a virtual force on the robot. The resultant force determines how the robot will move. Reactive behavior and proactive planning can both be handled in a simple and uniform manner using the proposed integration method. A real‐time motion predictor is employed to enable the mobile robot to deal in advance with moving obstacles. A grid map is maintained using on‐line sensory data for global path planning, and a bidirectional algorithm is proposed for planning the shortest path for the robot by using updated grid‐map information. Therefore, the mobile robot has the capacity to both learn and adapt to variations. To implement the whole navigation system efficiently, a blackboard model is used to coordinate the computation on board the vehicle. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the proposed design and demonstrate smooth navigation behavior of the intelligent mobile robot in dynamic environments. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

移动机器人动态路径规划方法的研究与实现

针对在未知动态障碍物存在且目标点移动的环境下,采用人工势场法规划路径时斥力影响半径往往大于障碍物的半径从而导致动态障碍物与机器人发生碰撞的问题,提出非完全等待策略与Morphine算法相结合的改进人工势场法动态路径规划策略。当动态障碍物与机器人发生侧面碰撞时采用非完全等待策略;当动态障碍物与机器人发生迎面碰撞时采用Morphine算法局部规划路径;同时引入滚动窗口理论提高躲避动态障碍物的精确度。通过仿真实验,与传统人工势场作对比,提出的改进算法在发生侧面碰撞时要缩短12步,在发生迎面碰撞时要缩短6步,由此可得提出改进算法在路径平滑性和规划步数方面效果更优。     

Motion planning of multiple mobile robots by a combination of learned visibility graphs and virtual impedance

A motion planning algorithm for multiple mobile robots is proposed in this paper. A hierarchical architecture with two layers 'learned visibility graph layer (upper layer)' and 'virtual impedance layer (lower layer)' (one of the potential field planning method) is presented. This system has the following characteristics: (1) is applicable to unknown dynamic environments, (2) is applicable to distributed multiple robot systems and (3) is capable of adequate path generation and motion. At the upper layer, efficient exploration of environments makes it possible to generate sub-shortest paths that avoid static obstacles. At the lower layer, on-line avoidance can be made with virtual impedance against moving obstacles such as other robots. Simulation results show the validity of the proposed method.     

基于多行为的移动机器人路径规划

机器人由当前点向目标点运动的过程中,所处环境经常为动态变化且未知的,这使得传统的路径规划算法对于移动机器人避障过程很难建立精确的数学模型.为此,针对环境信息完全未知的情况,为移动机器人设计一种基于模糊控制思想的多行为局部路径规划方法.该方法通过对各种行为之间进行适时合理的切换,以保证机器人安全迅速地躲避静态和动态障碍物,并利用改进的人工势场法实现对变速目标点的追踪.对于模糊避障中常见的U型陷阱问题,提出一种边界追踪的陷阱逃脱策略,使得机器人成功解除死锁状态.另外,设计一个速度模糊控制器,实现了机器人的智能行驶.最后,基于Matlab平台的仿真结果验证了所提出算法的有效性和实时性,与A*势场法的对比结果更突出了该算法的可行性.     

Path planning in GPS-denied environments via collective intelligence of distributed sensor networks

This paper proposes a framework for reactive goal-directed navigation without global positioning facilities in unknown dynamic environments. A mobile sensor network is used for localising regions of interest for path planning of an autonomous mobile robot. The underlying theory is an extension of a generalised gossip algorithm that has been recently developed in a language-measure-theoretic setting. The algorithm has been used to propagate local decisions of target detection over a mobile sensor network and thus, it generates a belief map for the detected target over the network. In this setting, an autonomous mobile robot may communicate only with a few mobile sensing nodes in its own neighbourhood and localise itself relative to the communicating nodes with bounded uncertainties. The robot makes use of the knowledge based on the belief of the mobile sensors to generate a sequence of way-points, leading to a possible goal. The estimated way-points are used by a sampling-based motion planning algorithm to generate feasible trajectories for the robot. The proposed concept has been validated by numerical simulation on a mobile sensor network test-bed and a Dubin’s car-like robot.     

Reactive navigation in dynamic environment using a multisensorpredictor

A reactive navigation system for an autonomous mobile robot in unstructured dynamic environments is presented. The motion of moving obstacles is estimated for robot motion planning and obstacle avoidance. A multisensor-based obstacle predictor is utilized to obtain obstacle-motion information. Sensory data from a CCD camera and multiple ultrasonic range finders are combined to predict obstacle positions at the next sampling instant. A neural network, which is trained off-line, provides the desired prediction on-line in real time. The predicted obstacle configuration is employed by the proposed virtual force based navigation method to prevent collision with moving obstacles. Simulation results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed navigation system in an environment with multiple mobile robots or moving objects. This system was implemented and tested on an experimental mobile robot at our laboratory. Navigation results in real environment are presented and analyzed.     

非完整移动机器人的人工势场法路径规划

基于人工势场的移动机器人路径规划方法在最近20多年里受到了广泛关注.然而研究者主要将目光集中于解决其各种理论问题,在研究中大都将机器人看作无约束的质点或刚体,通常无法直接应用于受到非完整约束限制的轮式移动机器人.针对人工势场法在轮式移动机器人上的实现问题,本文对两种已有实现方法进行了理论分析,指出其存在目标不可达的隐患和无法在不同环境下兼顾路径规划性能的问题,并提出一种基于模糊规则的新方法,通过在不同的情况下调整控制方式和参数解决前述问题.仿真研究表明,该方法在保证目标可达的前提下能够在多种环境中获得更好的总体规划性能.     

基于混合势场法的移动机器人路径规划

针对目前移动机器人在路径规划中出现的问题,提出一种自主移动机器人路径规划的新方法——混合势场法。分析了人工势场法的不足,找出局部极小值点的形成原因;针对人工势场法中障碍物附近目标不可达问题,采用了在斥力场函数中加入斥力因子,使得机器人顺利到达目标点;针对陷入局部极小值和振荡的问题,提出了混合势场法,通过将势场法和可视图法结合起来,使得机器人走出局部极小值和振荡区域。最后,将混合势场法应用于室内移动机器人的路径规划中,仿真实验证明了该方法的有效性。     

面向未知地图的六足机器人路径规划算法

针对移动机器人路径规划中无法准确得知全局地图的问题,提出了一种基于模糊规则和人工势场法的局部路径规划算法。首先,利用测距组与模糊规则,进行障碍物的形状分类,构建局部地图;其次,在人工势场法中引入了一种修正的斥力函数,基于局部地图,利用人工势场法进行局部路径规划;最后,随着机器人的运动,设置时间断点,以减少路径震荡。针对随机障碍物和凹凸障碍物的地图,分别采用传统人工势场法和改进的人工势场法进行仿真,其结果表明：在遇到随机障碍物时,相比传统人工势场法,改进的人工势场法能够显著减少与障碍物的碰撞;在遇到凹凸障碍物时,改进的人工势场法能够很好地完成路径规划的目标。所提算法对地形变化适应能力强,能够实现在未知地图下的六足机器人路径规划。     

Autonomous multi-mobile robot system: simulation and implementation using fuzzy logic

In an autonomous multi-mobile robot environment, path planning and collision avoidance are important functions used to perform a given task collaboratively and cooperatively. This study considers these important and challenging problems. The proposed approach is based on a potential field method and fuzzy logic system. First, a global path planner selects the paths of the robots that minimize the potential value from each robot to its own target using a potential field. Then, a local path planner modifies the path and orientation from the global planner to avoid collisions with static and dynamic obstacles using a fuzzy logic system. In this paper, each robot independently selects its destination and considers other robots as dynamic obstacles, and there is no need to predict the motion of obstacles. This process continues until the corresponding target of each robot is found. To test this method, an autonomous multi-mobile robot simulator (AMMRS) is developed, and both simulation-based and experimental results are given. The results show that the path planning and collision avoidance strategies are effective and useful for multi-mobile robot systems.     

动态环境中移动机器人地图构建的研究进展

大部分现有的移动机器人地图构建方法都是基于静态环境的假设,而实际应用中移动机器人的工作环境是随时间变化的.综述了动态环境中移动机器人地图构建的最新研究进展,介绍了基于地图、基于运动和基于跟踪的检测动态障碍物的各种方法,分析比较了动态环境中移动机器人过滤运动障碍物传感器观测信息和结合运动障碍物传感器观测信息构建环境地图的主要方法,并总结了各种方法的优缺点.探讨了动态环境中移动机器人地图构建存在的难点问题,并展望了该领域的研究方向.     

基于障碍物运动预测的移动机器人路径规划

针对移动机器人局部动态避障路径规划问题开展优化研究。基于动态障碍物当前历史位置轨迹,提出动态障碍物运动趋势预测算法。在移动机器人的动态避障路径规划过程中,考虑障碍物当前的位置,评估动态障碍物的移动轨迹;提出改进的D*Lite路径规划算法,大幅提升机器人动态避障算法的效率与安全性。搭建仿真验证环境,给出典型的单动态障碍物、多动态障碍物场景,对比验证了避障路径规划算法的有效性。     

六足机器人动态目标检测与跟踪系统研究

动态目标检测与目标跟踪是图像领域的热点研究问题,为研究其在移动机器人领域的应用价值,设计了六足机器人动态目标检测与跟踪系统。针对非刚体运动目标容易被检测为多个分散区域的问题提出区域合并算法,并通过对称匹配、自适应外点滤除对运动背景进行精确补偿,最终基于背景补偿法实现对运动目标的精确检测。研究了基于KCF（Kernel Correlation Filter）的目标跟踪算法在六足机器人平台上的应用,设计了自适应跟踪算法实现六足机器人对运动目标的角度跟踪。将运动目标检测及跟踪算法应用于六足机器人系统。实验表明,在六足机器人移动过程中,系统可对运动目标进行精确检测与跟踪。