Motion planning in dynamic environments - A parallel online approach

This paper presents a new approach to parallel motion planning for industrial robot arms with six degrees of freedom in an on-line given 3D environment. The method is based on the A-search algorithm and needs no essential off-line computations. The algorithm works in an implicitly descrete configuration space. Collisions are detected in the Cartesian workspace by hierarchical distance computation based on the given CAD model. By decomposing the 6D configuration space into hypercubes and cyclically mapping them onto multiple processing units, a good load distribution can be achieved. We have implemented the parallel motion planner on a workstation cluster with 9 PCs and tested the planner for several benchmark environments. With optimal discretisation, the new approach usually shows linear speedups. In on-line provided environments with static obstacles, the parallel planning times are only a few seconds.

[1]  Dominik Henrich,et al.  A review of parallel processing approaches to motion planning , 1996, Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[2]  Heinz Wörn,et al.  Schnelle Kollisionserkennung durch parallele Abstandsberechnung , 1997, AMS.

[3]  Dominik Henrich,et al.  Path planning for industrial robot arms - A parallel randomized approach , 1996 .

[4]  Dominik Henrich,et al.  Fast distance computation for on-line collision detection with multi-arm robots , 1992, Proceedings 1992 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[5]  Vipin Kumar,et al.  A parallel formulation of informed randomized search for robot motion planning problems , 1995, Proceedings of 1995 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[6]  Christian Wurll,et al.  Ein Workstation - Cluster fuer paralleles Rechnen in Robotik-Anwendungen , 1997 .

[7]  Ben J. H. Verwer,et al.  A multiresolution work space, multiresolution configuration space approach to solve the path planning problem , 1990, Proceedings., IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[8]  Gerd Hirzinger,et al.  A global and resolution complete path planner for up to 6DOF robot manipulators , 1996, Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[9]  Dominik Henrich,et al.  Fast Motion Planning by Parallel Processing – a Review , 1997, J. Intell. Robotic Syst..

[10]  Paolo Fiorini,et al.  Time optimal trajectory planning in dynamic environments , 1996, Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[11]  Prof. Dr. Kikuo Fujimura.  Motion Planning in Dynamic Environments , 1991, Computer Science Workbench.

[12]  Angel P. del Pobil,et al.  Practical Motion Planning in Robotics: Current Approaches and Future Directions , 1998 .

[13]  Narendra Ahuja,et al.  Gross motion planning—a survey , 1992, CSUR.

[14]  El-Ghazali Talbi,et al.  Parallel Motion Planning with the Ariadne's Clew Algorithm , 1993, ISER.