Mobile Robot Dynamic Path Planning Based on Artificial Potential Field Approach

Artificial potential field based mobile robot path planning approaches have been widely used. However, most methods are applied in the static environment where the target and the obstacles are stationary. In this paper, a potential field approach used in dynamic situation is proposed. Its major characteristics include a new attractive potential function as well as a repulsive potential function. The former takes the relative position and velocity between the robot and the target into consideration; the latter takes into account the relative position and velocity between the robot and the obstacles. The proposed approach guarantees the robot can track the moving target while escape from moving obstacles. Simulation experiments are carried out and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the new potential field method.