Application of Fuzzy Logic in Mobile Robot Navigation

An autonomous robot is a programmable and multi-functional machine, able to extract information from its surrounding using different kinds of sensors to plan and execute collision free motions within its environment without human intervention. Navigation is a crucial issue for robots that claim to be mobile. A navigation system can be divided into two layers: High level global planning and Low-level reactive control. In high-level planning, a prior knowledge of environment is available and the robot workspace is completely or partially known. Using the world model, the global planner can determine the robot motion direction and generates minimum-cost paths towards the target in the presence of complex obstacles. However, since it is not capable of changing the motion direction in presence of unforeseen or moving obstacles, it fails to reach target. In contrast, in low-level reactive control, the robot work space is unknown and dynamic. It generates control commands based on perception-action configuration, which the robot uses current sensory information to take appropriate actions without planning process. Thus, it has a quick response in reacting to unforeseen obstacles and uncertainties with changing the motion direction.