Obstacle avoidance and path following control of a WMR used as personal robotic assistant

In this paper, an obstacle avoidance method and a fuzzy control, together with a distributed system of embedded microcontrollers, are presented. In the real-time control, a wheeled mobile robot (WMR), Pioneer 3-DX, from Mobile Robots, has been used. The solution adopted can be easily ported for the implementation of an intelligent wheelchair, capable either to carry an elderly or disabled person, or to move independently in a smart environment, as a sensorial extension of the assisted individual. A number of control modules are located on the mobile robot, while others are deployed in an intelligent environment. This solution can significantly reduce the cost of developing a personal robotic assistant (PRA) for the elderly and disabled. The structure of the real-time setup is described in detail, as well as the main algorithms used for each individual task: path following, obstacle avoidance, data acquisition. Also, an obstacle avoidance system, based on ricochet method, named “the bubble rebound method”, is presented.