Robot Path Planning in High Risk Fire Front Environments

Most path planning approaches for mobile robot navigation have concentrated on discovering obstacle-free paths which minimise distance, time or energy. Here we show how variations adapted for Covert Robotics, where visibility from various (or all) points in the environment is built into the cost structures, can be further adapted to provide robot navigation paths which minimise risk of fire heat exposure in high risk fire front environments. Both escape routes and fire extinguishing forays can be planned using this methodology. A wide range of simulation results are presented to illustrate the power and scope of this approach. The work reported is related to an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant project entitled ´Robotic Vehicles for Fire Fighting and Emergency Services Support´.