MOBILE ROBOT PATH PLANNING BASED ON HIERARCHICAL HEXAGONAL DECOMPOSITION AND ARTIFICIAL POTENTIAL FIELDS

In this article, a new algorithm based on an artificial potential fiel d and hierarchical cell decomposition technique is developed to solve the find-path problem for a mobile robot. The complete map of the work space including obstacle locations is assumed to be known a priori. Th e basic cell structure used for decomposition is a hexagon. The artifi cial potential field is based on an attractive force from the goal pos ition and repelling forces from the obstacles. Computer simulations of the algorithm for various obstacle scenarios are also presented. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.