Path-velocity decomposition revisited and applied to dynamic trajectory planning

Dynamic trajectory planning is addressed. The case of a car-like robot, A, with bounded velocity and acceleration, moving in a dynamic workspace W=R² is considered. The concept of adjacent paths is introduced, and used within a novel motion planning schema which operates in two complementary stages, paths-planning and trajectory-planning. In the paths-planning stage, a set of adjacent paths, one of which leads A to its goal, are computed. These paths are collision-free with the stationary obstacles and respect A´s kinematic constraints. In the trajectory-planning stage, knowing that A is able to shift from one path to an adjacent one freely, the motion of A along and between these paths is determined so as to avoid any collision with the moving obstacles while respecting A´s dynamic constraints