Research on the Collision-Free Path Planning of Multi-AGVs System Based on Improved A* Algorithm

Path planning problem is the core and hot research topic of multiple Automatic Guided Vehicles (multi-AGVs) system. Although there are many research results, they do not solve the path planning problem from the perspective of reducing traffic congestion. A collision-free path planning method based on improved A* Algorithm for multi-AGVs logistics sorting system is proposed in this paper. In the method, the environment of warehouse operation for AGVs is described by using grid method. The estimated cost of A* algorithm is improved by adding the penalty value of the paths that AGVs share with each other to alleviate traffic congestion and collision resolution rules are made according to different types of collisions. Then the collision-free path planning is done by combing the improved A* algorithm and collision resolution rules. The sorting efficiency of the method is compared with that of original A* algorithm. Simulation results show that the new collision-free path planning method can improve the sorting efficiency of multi-AGVs system and relieve traffic congestion.