A genetic algorithm based area coverage approach for controlled drug delivery using micro-robots

This paper describes a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based approach for area coverage using micro-robots. The method can be used for controlled drug delivery or tumor treatment using micro-robots. The algorithm aims to find a near-optimal path that covers a given area entirely, except obstacles defined as biological barriers or drug side effect restricted zones. The proposed GA approach is a dynamic online path planning approach, which is able to achieve planning during motion and to response to detected obstacles. Different from point-to-point path planning, the proposed operators for the GA are specially designed for area coverage. Comparisons of the approach with high-level static optimal search algorithms and low-level fixed path planning approaches are also presented. Simulation results are given to show the effectiveness of the approach.