Path planning using a potential field representation

An approach to two-dimensional as well as three-dimensional findpath problems that divides each problem into two steps is presented. Rough paths are found based only on topological information. This is accomplished by assigning to each obstacle an artificial potential similar to electrostatic potential to prevent the moving object from colliding with the obstacles, and then locating minimum-potential valleys. The paths defined by the minimum-potential valleys are modified to obtain an optimal collision-free path and orientations of the moving object along the path. Three algorithms are given to accomplish this second step. These three algorithms based on potential fields are nearly complete in scope, and solve a large variety of problems.>