Publication

Randomized path planning on manifolds based on higher-dimensional continuation

Journal Article (2012)

Journal

The International Journal of Robotics Research

Pages

201-215

Volume

31

Number

2

Doc link

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0278364911432324

File

Download the digital copy of the doc pdf document

Abstract

Despite the significant advances in path planning methods, highly constrained problems are still challenging. In some situations, the presence of constraints defines a configuration space that is a non-parametrizable manifold embedded in a high dimensional ambient space. In these cases, the use of sampling-based path planners is cumbersome since samples in the ambient space have low probability to lay on the configuration space manifold. In this paper, we present a new path planning algorithm specially tailored for highly constrained systems. The proposed planner builds on recently developed tools for higher-dimensional continuation, which provide numerical procedures to describe an implicitly defined manifold using a set of local charts. We propose to extend these methods focussing the generation of charts on the path between the two configurations to connect and randomizing the process to find alternative paths in the presence of obstacles. The advantage of this planner comes from the fact that it directly operates into the configuration space and not into the higher-dimensional ambient space, as most of the existing methods do.

Categories

robots.

Author keywords

higher-dimensional continuation, manifolds, constrained path planning

Scientific reference

J.M. Porta, L. Jaillet and O. Bohigas. Randomized path planning on manifolds based on higher-dimensional continuation. The International Journal of Robotics Research, 31(2): 201-215, 2012.