Path Planning for Mobile Robots using Iterative Artificial Potential Field Method

Abstract

In this paper, a new algorithm is proposed for solving the path planning problem of mobile robots. The algorithm is based on Artificial Potential Field (APF) methods that have been widely used for path planning related problems for more than two decades. While keeping the simplicity of traditional APF methods, our algorithm is built upon new potential functions based on the distances from obstacles, destination point and start point. The algorithm uses the potential field values iteratively to find the optimum points in the workspace in order to form the path from start to destination. The number of iterations depends on the size and shape of the workspace. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested by conducting simulation experiments.