Robot Path Planning using Dynamic Programming with Accelerating Nodes

Abstract

We solve the problem of robot path planning using Dynamic Programming (DP) designed to perform well in case of a sudden path blockage. A conventional DP algorithm works well for real time scenarios only when the update frequency is high i.e. changes can be readily propagated. In case updates are costly, for a sudden blockage the robot continues moving along the wrong path or stands stationary. We propose a modified DP that has nodes with additional processing (called accelerating nodes) to enable different segments of the map to become informed about the blockage rapidly. We further quickly compute an alternative path in case of a blockage. Experimental results verify that usage of accelerating nodes makes the robot follow optimal paths in dynamic environments.