Real-time navigation using randomized kinodynamic planning with arrival time field

In this paper, we propose a novel path planning algorithm for a mobile robot in dynamic and cluttered environments with kinodynamic constraints. We compute the arrival time field as a bias which gives larger weights for shorter and safer paths toward a goal. We then implement a randomized path search guided by the arrival time field for building the path considering kinematic and dynamic (kinodynamic) constraints of an actual robot. We also consider path quality by adding heuristic constraints on the randomized path search, such as reducing unstable movements of the robot by using a heading criterion. The path will be extracted by backtracking the nodes which reach the goal area to the root of the tree generated by the randomized search, and the motion from the very first node will be sent to the robot controller. We provide a brief comparison between our algorithm and other existing algorithms. Simulation and experimental results prove that our algorithm is fast and reliable to be implemented on the real robot and is able to handle kinodynamic problems effectively.

► We introduce the arrival time field for guiding a randomized path search. ► Our algorithm widely explores the area and keeps the convergence of the path. ► A kinodynamic constraint is considered by choosing possible motion controls. ► Path quality is considered by using heuristic constraints on the randomized search. ► Our algorithm works better than other existing algorithms.