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Optimal Collision Free Path Planning for Non-Synchronized Motions

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Abstract

This paper treats the path finding problem for robots whose joints cannot be controlled in such a way that the end-effector follows a prespecified trajectory. Hence, if two or more joints are moving at the same time during the motion, the relative positions for the joints, i.e. the exact positions of the end-effector, are not known. This may be due to the low level control of the robot (for example, with heavy load robots), or due to a complicated kinematic structure. For such mechanisms a motion is specified by certain intermediate positions (values for all joints) along a desired path. These intermediate positions (‘synchronization points’) and the requirement that the motions in the single joints are monotonous between consecutive synchronization points guarantee a certain structure of a path. We develop a new algorithm that determines paths for such mechanisms, i.e., a respective sequence of intermediate positions, such that the path is collision free and is shortest with respect to different optimality criteria.

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  1. RISC-Linz (Research Institute for Symbolic Computation), Johannes Kepler University, A-4040, Linz, Austria

    Sabine Stifter

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  1. Sabine Stifter
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Stifter, S. Optimal Collision Free Path Planning for Non-Synchronized Motions. Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems 19, 187–205 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007982023427

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007982023427

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