Comparative study of Bidirectional A*, D* and D* Lite for Path Planning

Abstract

Path planning algorithms are mainly used in robotics for navigation. Search-based algorithms are well-suited for partially known environments. Autonomous robots in factories constantly move equipment from one place to another. They have to take optimal paths to reduce time and cost while avoiding obstacles by replanning the path. This paper compares three path planning algorithms, Bidirectional A*, D*, and D* Lite. This comparative study evaluates these algorithms’ performance in an 8x8 grid environment in various scenarios. Various metrics, such as the number of steps in the path, computation time and efficiency, were used to compare these algorithms. The results of this evaluation will assist in decision-making when selecting a path planning algorithm for any application.