Robot path planning and control in a cluttered workplace

A multi-level planning strategy is used, which computes, from the geometry of workspace, a `road map´ involving a set of suggested paths in the form of a searchable network. Then the path planning problem is reduced to selecting a path from the road map which will ensure collision-free tracking. Guidance of robotic manipulators along the collision-free trajectory requires close tracking of reference trajectories without overshoots. Going beyond the specified trajectory before actually stabilizing may lead to collisions regardless of the success of the find-path algorithms used. This paper introduces a joint control scheme which meets the “no-overshoot” requirements while yielding a fast response