A Sensor Based Navigation Algorithm of a Mobile Robot with Moving Obstacles in Its Workspace Assuring Convergence Property

A sensor based navigation algorithm for a mobile robot which assures a convergence property is proposed when the robot is navigated from a given start position to a goal position while avoiding moving and fixed obstacles. This algorithm guides the robot toward the goal by using its sensor information in an unknown environment. Conventional sensor based navigation algorithms such as Bug algorithm and Tangent Bug algorithm do not assure the convergence property to the goal position, and they may fail because of dead-locks in the presence of moving obstacles. In the real world, a robot should move around in a workspace with both fixed and moving obstacles. Typical examples of moving obstacles include human beings in real world workspace. We propose a new algorithm to guide a mobile robot toward the goal position. The algorithm can be applied for such workspace. The basic concept of this algorithm is based on detecting a loop in the robot’s path that is characteristic for the avoidance of moving obstacle. Simulation examples of the sensor based navigation in the presence of moving and fixed obstacles are shown to demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.