Manipulating B-Spline Based Paths for Obstacle Avoidance in Autonomous Ground Vehicles

John Connors and Gabriel Elkaim

Abstract:	The Overbot is one of the original DARPA Grand Challenge vehicles now being used as a platform for autonomous vehicle research. The vehicle, equipped with a complete actuator and sensor suite, provides for an extremely capable robotic platform with computing infrastructure and software framework already in place to create a reconfigurable testbed. For point to point navigation, calculating suitable paths is computationally difficult. Maneuvering the vehicle safely around obstacles is essential, and the ability to generate safe paths in a real time environment is crucial for vehicle viability. We present a method for developing feasible paths through complicated environments using a baseline smooth path based on cubic splines. A method for adjusting and bending the spline to avoid obstacles is developed. This method is able to iteratively refine the path to more directly compute a feasible path and thus find an efficient, collision free path in real time through an unstructured environment. This method, when implemented in a receding horizon fashion, becomes the basis for high level control.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2007 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 22 - 24, 2007 The Catamaran Resort Hotel San Diego, CA
Pages:	1081 - 1088
Cite this article:	Connors, John, Elkaim, Gabriel, "Manipulating B-Spline Based Paths for Obstacle Avoidance in Autonomous Ground Vehicles," Proceedings of the 2007 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, San Diego, CA, January 2007, pp. 1081-1088.
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