Dynamic programming field based environment learning and path planning for mobile robots

A new approach called dynamic programming field for modeling the robot environments is presented and it´s beneficial to the path planning. The dynamic programming field, which is approximated by Neuro-Dynamic Programming, records environmental information through a neural network and can be used to compute the approximate optimal cost between any two points. Based on the dynamic programming field, the path planning combines the optimization of global planning and the real-time of local planning. Simulation results show the validity of the proposed approach.