Local path planning for mobile robots based on intermediate objectives

This paper presents a path planning algorithm for autonomous navigation of non-holonomic mobile robots in complex environments. The irregular contour of obstacles is represented by seg-ments. The goal of the robot is to move towards a known target while avoiding obstacles. The velocity constraints, robot kinematic model and non-holonomic constraint are considered in the problem. The optimal path planning problem is formulated as a constrained receding horizon plan-ning problem and the trajectory is obtained by solving an optimal control problem with constraints. Local minima are avoided by choosing intermediate objectives based on the real time environment. ∗This work was supported by EU INTERREG IVA 2 Mers Seas Zeeen Cross-border Cooperation Programme under SYSIASS project 06-020. It was also supported by Ministry of Higher Education and Research Nord-Pas de Calais Regional Council and FEDER through the ”Contrat de Projets Etat Region (CPER) CIA 2007-2013”. 1 ha l-