Moving Safely but not Slowly - Reactively Adapting Paths for Better Trajectory Times

K. Madhava Krishna    R. Alami    T. Simeon   

LAAS-CRNS , 7 avenue du Colonel-Roche, Toulouse Cedex, France   


In our previous effort [1] we had reported on a methodology for computing the maximum velocity profile for a planned trajectory of mobile robot. The profile computed is indicative of the maximum velocity the robot can process at a given location that enables it to come to a halt before collision with mobile objects that could appear from areas not seen by the robot's sensing apparatus. The profile also allowed the deformation of paths such that the overall trajectory time is reduced. An extension of the approach to an online scheme that modifies and adapts the path as well as velocities to changes in the environment such that both safety and execution time are not compromised is presented in this paper. Simulation and experimental results indicate the efficacy of this methodology