An Improved Hybrid A* Algorithm of Path Planning for Hotel Service Robot

Due to the increasing demand for unmanned in the hotel industry in recent years, how to efficiently use hotel service robots to further improve the efficiency of the hotel industry has become a hot research issue. To solve the problems of lengthy path-finding time and poor route security in conventional service robots in complex environments, the current study provides an improved A* path-finding algorithm for application in the hotel environment. Firstly, the conventional A* algorithm is combined with bidirectional search and Jump Point Search (JSP) algorithm, which makes the search more effective. Secondly, the traditional A* algorithm is combined with the security weight square matrix to make the path trajectory safer. A cubic spline interpolation is chosen to smoothen the transitions at the corners planned by the improved A* algorithm. Simulation experiments were done on grid maps with 10*10, 20*20 and 50*50 sizes. Compared with the conventional A* algorithm, the search time were decreased by 67%, 77% and 95% respectively. The number of search nodes was decreased by 80%, 76% and 95%, respectively. Meanwhile the distance between the robot and the obstacles was increased. The results indicate that the improved A* algorithm suggested in the present research can ensure the path trajectory safer while keeping the path search efficiency higher.