The virtual springs method: Path planning and collision avoidance for redundant manipulators

Potential-field based methods for path planning have the advantage of speed, but also a reputation for getting stuck in local minima when used with complex systems such as redundant manipulators. We have developed a novel method of setting up a potential-field system that replaces rigid links by stiff (virtual) springs. The method is fast, directly suitable for parallel processing, and experimentally much less prone to the danger of local minima. Although quite general, it is particularly suited to use with manipulators whose links are thin compared with their length.