Real-time Collision-free Path Planning Research Articles

A real-time collision-free path planning of a rust removal robot using an improved neural network

In this paper, a real-time collision-free path planning of the rust removal robot in a ship environment is proposed, which is based on an improved biologically inspired neural network algorithm. This improved algorithm is based on the biologically inspired neural network and modified with obstacle detection sensors and kinematic state templates, and is implemented in a ship rust removal robot planning system for dynamic trajectory generation. The real-time optimal trajectory is generated by the biologically inspired neural network, and the moving obstacle detection process of a ship robot working on the wall is simulated with the obstacle detection sensors models. The local real-time trajectory can be re-planned by the updated local map information, where the obstacle detection sensors are used to inspect partial environment information and update the robot nearby information in real time in the original neural network algorithm. At the same time, the method of the kinematic state templates matching and searching is used to solve the pipes’ influence of the rust removal robot climbing on the wall, which can not only provide a smooth path, but also can judge the motion direction and turning angle of the robot. Comparison of the proposed approach with the simulation shows that the improved algorithm is capable of planning a real-time collision-free path with achieving the local environmental information and judging the rust removal robot’s motion direction and turning angle. This proposed algorithm can be good used in the ship rust removal robot.

Real-time multimodal transport path planning based on a pulse neural network model

A modified pulse-coupled neural network (MPCNN) model is designed for real-time collision-free path planning of multimodal transport choice in stationary or non-stationary environments. The proposed neural network is topologically organised with only local lateral connections among neurons. The optimisation networks model consists of transport distance, transport time, transit costs and transit time and other factors, and then all factors compose to weight of the networks to realise the transformation to solve the shortest path problem. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach is demonstrated through simulation and comparison studies.

VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTATION BASED SYSTEMS FOR REAL-TIME PATH PLANNING OF MOBILE ROBOTS USING BIO-INSPIRED NEURAL NETWORKS

In this paper, novel virtual instrumentation based systems for real-time collision-free path planning and tracking control of mobile robots are proposed. The developed virtual instruments are computationally simple and efficient in comparison to other approaches, which act as a new soft-computing platform to implement a biologically-inspired neural network. This neural network is topologically arranged with only local lateral connections among neurons. The dynamics of each neuron is described by a shunting equation with both excitatory and inhibitory connections. The neural network requires no off-line training or on-line learning, which is capable of planning a comfortable trajectory to the target without suffering from neither the too close nor the too far problems. LabVIEW is chosen as the software platform to build the proposed virtual instrumentation systems, as it is one of the most important industrial platforms. We take the initiative to develop the first neuro-dynamic application in LabVIEW. The developed virtual instruments could be easily used as educational and research tools for studying various robot path planning and tracking situations that could be easily understood and analyzed step by step. The effectiveness and efficiency of the developed virtual instruments are demonstrated through simulation and comparison studies.

Real-Time Robot Path Planning Based on a Modified Pulse-Coupled Neural Network Model

This paper presents a modified pulse-coupled neural network (MPCNN) model for real-time collision-free path planning of mobile robots in nonstationary environments. The proposed neural network for robots is topologically organized with only local lateral connections among neurons. It works in dynamic environments and requires no prior knowledge of target or barrier movements. The target neuron fires first, and then the firing event spreads out, through the lateral connections among the neurons, like the propagation of a wave. Obstacles have no connections to their neighbors. Each neuron records its parent, that is, the neighbor that caused it to fire. The real-time optimal path is then the sequence of parents from the robot to the target. In a static case where the barriers and targets are stationary, this paper proves that the generated wave in the network spreads outward with travel times proportional to the linking strength among neurons. Thus, the generated path is always the global shortest path from the robot to the target. In addition, each neuron in the proposed model can propagate a firing event to its neighboring neuron without any comparing computations. The proposed model is applied to generate collision-free paths for a mobile robot to solve a maze-type problem, to circumvent concave U-shaped obstacles, and to track a moving target in an environment with varying obstacles. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach is demonstrated through simulation and comparison studies.

A Biological Inspired Approach to Collision-Free Path Planning and Tracking Control of a Mobile Robot

In this paper, a novel biologically inspired neural network approach is proposed for real-time collision-free path planning and tracking control of a nonholonomic mobile robot in a dynamic environment. The real-time collision-free robot trajectory is generated by a topologically organized neural network, where the dynamics of each neuron is characterized by a shunting equation derived from Hodgkin and Huxley’s biological membrane equation. The dynamically changing environment is represented by the dynamic activity landscape of the neural network, where the neural activity propagation is subject to the nonholonomic kinematic constraint of the mobile robot. The tracking velocities for the mobile robot are generated by a novel neural dynamics based controller, which is based on two shunting equations and the conventional backstepping technique. Unlike the conventional backstepping controllers suffer from sharp jumps, the proposed tracking controller can generate smooth and continuous commands. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach are demonstrated through simulation and comparison studies.

REAL-TIME PATH PLANNING AND TRACKING CONTROL USING A NEURAL DYNAMICS BASED APPROACH

Real-time collision-free path planning and tracking control of a nonholonomic mobile robot in a dynamic environment is investigated using a neural dynamics based approach. The real-time robot path is generated through a dynamic neural activity landscape of a topologically organized neural network that represents the changing environment. The dynamics of each neuron is characterized by an additive neural dynamics model. The real-time tracking velocities are generated by a novel non-time based controller, which is based on the conventional event based control technique and an additive model. The effectiveness and efficiency of this approach are demonstrated through simulation and comparison studies.