A goal seeking and obstacle avoiding algorithm for autonomous mobile robots

The authors present an algorithm designed to provide a robot-vehicle with sufficient `intelligence´ to be able to optimize its behavior in the light of information while carrying out the task of moving from any position and orientation to any other position and orientation. The kinematic and dynamic constraints of a nonholonomic vehicle are included explicitly. It is thus possible to finesse issues concerned with producing planned paths that cannot be achieved in practice by a real vehicle. Some of the maneuvers that this algorithm can support are shown. The algorithm has been designed to allow the inclusion of unmapped obstacles and thus has the potential of being extended to situations where there are multiple moving vehicles