MT-461 PATH PLANNING FOR MOBILE ROBOTS

LAB – 3

MARIUM IMRAN

190967
BE – MTS -- V – B
To: engr. Iqra Asghar
PATH PLANNING AND MOBILE ROBOTS

LAB – 3

OBJECTIVES:
The objective of this lab is:

➢ How to find the shortest and best path by using Dubin car path.
➢ Writing a code on MATLAB by using Dubin car algorithms.

Equipment Required:
• MATLAB Software

Introduction:
In geometry, the term Dubins path typically refers to the shortest curve that connects two
points in the two-dimensional Euclidean plane (i.e., x-y plane) with a constraint on
the curvature of the path and with prescribed initial and terminal tangents to the path, and an
assumption that the vehicle traveling the path can only travel forward.

The Dubins path is commonly used in the fields of robotics and control theory to plan paths for
wheeled robots, airplanes, and underwater vehicles. There are simple geometric and analytical
methods to compute the optimal path.

For example, in the case of a wheeled robot, a simple kinematic car model (also known as
Dubins' car) for the systems is:

where is the car's position, is the heading, the car is moving at a constant speed , and the turn
rate control is bounded? In this case the maximum turning rate corresponds to some
minimum turning radius (and equivalently maximum curvature). The prescribed initial and
terminal tangents correspond to initial and terminal headings.

The Dubins' path gives the shortest path joining two oriented points that is feasible for the
wheeled-robot model.

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The optimal path type can be described using an analogy with cars of making a 'right turn (R)' ,
'left turn (L)' or driving 'straight (S).' An optimal path will always be at least one of the six types:

• RSR
• RSL
• LSR
• LSL
• RLR
• LRL. [1]

INNER AND OUTER TANGENTS

To connect the circles, we need tangent lines. A tangent line to a circle is perpendicular to the
center of the circle. There are 2 different groups of tangent lines:

• Outer tangent
• Inner tangent

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LAB TASK:
Using the Inner tangent method construct the require path.
Initial point: x1 = 1 y1 = 4 n1 = pi
Goal point: x2 = 9 y2 = 17 n2 = pi/9
Circle Radius: r = 1

CODE:

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FINAL PLOT:

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Conclusion:
From this lab we basically learnt how to do following things:

• Plotting the graphs of various circles.

• The inner tangent method.
• Drawing vector
• Finding vector magnitude
• Finding angle using cosine laws
• Finding intersection point of circle
• Finding tangent points and finding distance between tangent point
etc.

Critical Analysis:
This problem presents a rapid (real time) solution to the minimum-time path
planning problem for Dubins vehicles under environmental currents (wind or
ocean currents). Realtime solutions are essential in time-critical situations
(such as replanning under dynamically changing environments or tracking
fast moving targets). Typically, Dubins problem requires to solve for six path
types; however, due to the presence of currents, four of these path types
require to solve the root-finding problem involving transcendental functions.
Thus, the existing methods result in high computation times and their
applicability for Realtime applications is limited. In this regard, to obtain a
real-time solution, this paper proposes a novel approach where only a subset
of two Dubins path types (LSL and RSR) are used which have direct analytical
solutions in the presence of currents. However, these two path types do not
provide full reachability. We show that by extending the feasible range of
circular arcs in the LSL and RSR path types from 2π to 4π:

1) Full Reachability Of Any Goal Pose Is Guaranteed

2) Paths With Lower Time Costs As Compared To The Corresponding 2π-Arc

Paths Can Be Produced.

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Reference:

[1] “optimization | Definition, Techniques, & Facts | Britannica.”

https://www.britannica.com/science/optimization (accessed Oct. 07, 2021).

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