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Using Interpolation to Improve Path Planning: The Field D* Algorithm
D. Ferguson and A. Stentz
Journal of Field Robotics, Vol. 23, No. 2, February, 2006, pp. 79-101.

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We present an interpolation-based planning and replanning algorithm for generating low-cost paths through uniform and nonuniform resolution grids. Most grid-based path planners use discrete state transitions that artificially constrain an agent's motion to a small set of possible headings (e.g., 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, etc). As a result, even optimal grid-based planners produce unnatural, suboptimal paths. Our approach uses linear interpolation during planning to calculate accurate path cost estimates for arbitrary positions within each grid cell and produce paths with a range of continuous headings. Consequently, it is particularly well suited to planning low-cost trajectories for mobile robots. In this paper, we introduce a version of the algorithm for uniform resolution grids and a version for nonuniform resolution grids. Together, these approaches address two of the most significant shortcomings of grid-based path planning: the quality of the paths produced and the memory and computational requirements of planning over grids. We demonstrate our approaches on a number of example planning problems, compare them to related algorithms, and present several implementations on real robotic systems.

Associated centers: VASC and FRC
Associated lab/group: NavLab
Associated project: CTA Robotics

Number of pages: 23

D. Ferguson and A. Stentz, "Using Interpolation to Improve Path Planning: The Field D* Algorithm," Journal of Field Robotics, Vol. 23, No. 2, February, 2006, pp. 79-101.

@article{Ferguson_2006_5379,
   author = "David Ferguson and Anthony (Tony) Stentz",
   title = "Using Interpolation to Improve Path Planning: The Field D* Algorithm",
   journal = "Journal of Field Robotics",
   month = "February",
   year = "2006",
   volume = "23",
   number = "2",
   pages = "79-101"
}