Local path planning method considering blind spots based on cost map for wheeled mobile robot

This paper proposes a local path planning method considering blind spots based on the cost map for a wheeled mobile robot. In this research, a laser range finder (LRF) is utilized to recognize environmental information in real time. Blind spots occur when corners or obstacles are present in the environment. If humans or objects move from the blind spots toward the robot, collisions might occur. To avoid this collision, this paper describes the path planning that takes into account the blind spots. The position of a human in the blind spots is estimated from environment information measured by LRF. It is assumed that a human can move in all directions from these estimated positions. Therefore, in the cost map, the cost of the estimated positions of the human is represented as a circle. This cost is used for the calculation of path planning by dynamic window approach. Using the proposed method, the path plan of the robot is achieved by considering its blind spots. The effectiveness of the proposed method is further demonstrated through simulations and experiments. © 2021 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.