Risk-Aware Navigation for Mobile Robots in Unknown 3D Environments

TL;DR

This paper introduces a risk-aware navigation framework for mobile robots in unknown 3D environments, emphasizing physical risk assessment to enable safer and more versatile interactions, including minor collisions.

Contribution

It proposes a novel physically interpretable risk function for navigation that considers collision energy, expanding robot interaction capabilities beyond collision avoidance.

Findings

Effective risk quantification through maximum potential energy absorption.

Enhanced navigation safety in complex environments.

Ability to handle minor collisions like speed bumps and curbs.

Abstract

Autonomous navigation in unknown 3D environments is a key issue for intelligent transportation, while still being an open problem. Conventionally, navigation risk has been focused on mitigating collisions with obstacles, neglecting the varying degrees of harm that collisions can cause. In this context, we propose a new risk-aware navigation framework, whose purpose is to directly handle interactions with the environment, including those involving minor collisions. We introduce a physically interpretable risk function that quantifies the maximum potential energy that the robot wheels absorb as a result of a collision. By considering this physical risk in navigation, our approach significantly broadens the spectrum of situations that the robot can undertake, such as speed bumps or small road curbs. Using this framework, we are able to plan safe trajectories that not only ensure safety but also actively address the risks arising from interactions with the environment.