Obstacle avoidance and path finding for mobile robot navigation

TL;DR

This paper compares obstacle detection methods using cameras and ultrasound sensors with various pathfinding algorithms, including theta-based and Dijkstra, to improve mobile robot navigation efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces and evaluates new angle-based navigation algorithms and compares them with established methods like Dijkstra for enhanced robot path planning.

Findings

Theta-based algorithms perform comparably to Dijkstra in certain scenarios.

Ultrasound sensors provide reliable obstacle detection in close-range navigation.

Camera-based detection methods vary in effectiveness depending on environmental conditions.

Abstract

This paper investigates different methods to detect obstacles ahead of a robot using a camera in the robot, an aerial camera, and an ultrasound sensor. We also explored various efficient path finding methods for the robot to navigate to the target source. Single and multi-iteration angle-based navigation algorithms were developed. The theta-based path finding algorithms were compared with the Dijkstra Algorithm and their performance were analyzed.