Robot path planning in the presence of stationary and moving obstacles

Typescript (photocopy).Planning the path of a manipulator through an obstacle strewn workspace is a problem that must be solved if completely autonomous robotic manipulators are to safely operate. Many solutions to the problem have been posed but all have limitations of one form or another. Also, comparatively little has been done to solve the problem when one or more of the obstacles is allowed to move. Presented in this dissertation is an algorithm that uses artificial potential fields to aid in path planning process. The algorithm was used to solve for paths around stationary obstacles in two and three dimensions. The algorithm is extended to solve for paths in the presence of moving obstacles. One method assumes that the trajectory of the obstacle is known in advance of the path planning. A second method is introduced that plans the path of the robot when the trajectory of the obstacles are not known in advance