1D virtual force field algorithm for reflexive local path planning of mobile robots

A one-dimensional (1D) virtual force field (VFF) algorithm for real-time reflexive local path planning of mobile robots is proposed. The 1D-VFF is composed of the virtual steering, obstacle and integrated force fields (IFFs). The steering force field (SFF) is generated by the local or global goal position. This SFF leads a mobile robot to the goal. The obstacle force field (OFF) is created by the raw data of a range measurement sensor (RMS). By this OFF, a mobile robot avoids obstacles. The IFF is produced by combining the steering and OFFs in which weights between 0 and 1 are multiplied. Through this IFF, a final steering command by which a mobile robot reaches a goal by avoiding obstacles is generated. Various simulations compare the performance of the proposed 1D-VFF with the weighted virtual tangential vector (WVTV), which is the recently suggested local path planning method to overcome the U-shaped enclosure problem.