Constraint-Based Motion Planning for Virtual Prototyping

We present a novel framework for motion planning of rigid and articulated robots in complex, dynamic, 3D environments and demonstrate its application to virtual prototyping. Our approach transforms the motion planning problem into the simulation of a dynamical system in which the motion of each rigid robot is subject to the influence of virtual forces induced by geometric constraints. These constraints may enforce joint connectivity and angle limits for articulated robots, spatial relationships between multiple collaborative robots, or have a robot follow an estimated path to perform certain tasks in a sequence. Our algorithm works well in dynamic environments with moving obstacles and is applicable to challenging planning scenarios where multiple robots must move simultaneously to achieve a collision free path. We demonstrate its effectiveness for parts removal, automated car painting, and assembly line planning scenarios