Path Planning for Mobile Robots by Means of Approximate Routes

This paper describes a new method for the computation of paths for mobile robots in a known working area. The desired path connects a given starting position to a target position under avoidance of static obstacles. Path planning takes place off-line for the entire route and does not consider dynamic obstacles. This type of path planning can be used, for example, for fully automated storekeeping, in order to manoeuvre driverless vehicles flexibly and automatically through an entire storage depot. The method presented here uses auxiliary positions and computes several possible paths in the form of approximate partial routes. The computed paths vary in their overall length as well as the number and intensity of steering events. The results of this method are verified and discussed on the basis of a Matlab implementation.