A Kinetic Energy Based Potential Field Method for the Local Obstacle Avoidance of Mobile Robots

A Kinetic Energy Based Potential Field Method for the Local Obstacle Avoidance of Mobile Robots

  In this paper, a kinetic energy based potential field method (KEPFM) is proposed for the local obstacle avoidance of mobile robots. The magnitude of the artificial potential force is calculated by the kinetic energy of a robot relative to an obstacle or goal. Combining with a high-level path planner, this method makes the mobile robot be able to move in a dynamic environment and need not adjust any parameters related to the artificial potential force in a new environment, as required in the conventional potential field method (PFM). Two mobile robots cooperatively transporting a long object in a narrow space are introduced as an application of the KEPFM. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.