Path Planning for Mobile Robots via Skeletons on Fuzzy Maps

ABSTRACTIn this article, we present algorithms for robot path planning via navigation functions on fuzzy maps. In these kinds of bitmaps, a number is associated to each cell, characterizing the possibility that it belongs to an obstacle. Such a representation is useful when unknown environments are reconstructed from sensor measures. Two methods are devised; both are based on a proper modification of the wavefront expansion algorithm. The first is relatively simple, but produces paths that may graze the obstacles. Instead, the second method makes use of a properly defined skeleton of the map, that lies as far as possible from such areas. The performance of the two methods is illustrated by application to both simulated and experimental maps. The proposed method is also extended to the case of nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots.