A real-time path planning algorithm for cable-driven parallel robots in dynamic environment based on artificial potential guided RRT

Abstract

This paper deals with the collision-free path planning of cable-driven parallel robots (CDPRs) in a dynamic three-dimensional environment. The proposed algorithm is based on the artificial potential field (APF) approach which provides a simple and effective path planning method. However, the APF approach is easy to cause the robot oscillation and hard to reach the goal when it is applied in a dynamic environment. To overcome these two problems, the rapidly exploring random tree (RRT) was used to provide a random disturbance in order to reduce oscillations and reach the goal in less time. Due to the particularity of CDPRs, the proposed algorithm consider the wrench feasible workspace (WFW) and various collision conditions caused by the cable. The proposed algorithms were evaluated with three kinds of simulations. According to the simulation results, the proposed algorithms found an optimized path with less time cost was reduced about 27% compared with the APF approach. Furthermore, the oscillation phenomenon in the APF approach was effectively mitigated by 49%. Finally, the experimental result demonstrates the validity of the proposed algorithm.