Three dimensional robot path planning using a field programmable analog array

Abstract

A reconfigurable analog integrated circuit is used to solve for a robot's path from a start point to a goal point among obstacles in a three dimensional environment. A bipartite grid algorithm is used to deterministically find a mapping from an arbitrary gridspace environment representation map with freespace and obstacles into transistors which implement the map on the reconfigurable analog circuit. 100% correct solutions were found using our hardware for sixteen Monte Carlo experimental cases.