Autonomous Track Designing Approach in a Settled and Unsettled Environment

Abstract

This paper presents an approach that is used to amend the issues appears during trajectory designing for a mobile material handling robot in settled and dynamic/unsettled environment. Algorithms like artificial potential field approach (APF) is employed to eradicate the issues arises in deciding the shortest possible track in unsettled surrounding. Curtail track length, computational time, travel time, track smoothness, feasibility and crash free track are addressed in this paper. Two distinctive surrounding setups are designed in this paper. One involves only stationary/settled obstacles. While second surrounding involves both stationary and unsettled obstacles. The simulation practice indicates that Artificial Potential field technique is found appropriate when the surrounding involves both static and dynamic obstacles. Also track generated by this approach not only shorter but also requires less computational time for generating the optimal track. The selected approach is also capable for generating the travel time needed to chase the optimal path, as the speed of the robot is defined in the program. So the travel time associated with that track is determined. Some experimental trials are also performed to determine the value of actual travel length and time. From the study, it is concluded that the path generated by this approach in unsettled environment not only crash free, but also smooth and requires less computational and travel time.