Real-time robot motion control with circulatory fields

Abstract

This paper introduces a new feedback algorithm for steering a point robot through an obstacle field. The key innovation is the use of a circulatory field to rotate the robot path around the obstacles instead of the common potential field which repels the robot. This idea is motivated by a charged particle in a magnetic field generated by a current flowing around the obstacle. In constrast, the potential field approach is associated with a repulsive static electric field generated by charges of the same polarity as the robot, on the obstacle. The circulatory field does not generate any spurious local minimum as it does not change the total energy of the system. By combining with an attractive potential field associated with the desired destination, this method achieves global convergence while avoiding collisions with obstacles.