A study of a Clothoidal path generation for autonomous mobile robot

Abstract

This paper presents a new path generation method for a mobile robot equipped with an omni-directional camera and a laser rangefinder. The omni-directional camera can be used for environmental recognition, and a can capture 360-degree image without a dead angle. The laser rangefinder is capable of detecting range profiles that can accurately identify the distance of obstacles. This information can be used for smooth path generation. Here, in order to achieve smooth path generation and/or tracking, we applied omni-directional image and laser range profile data to generate an appropriate path by using a clothoidal curve. The curvature and its derivative are estimated by segmented Hough transform, and path points are generated based on the Delaunay triangulation method. The path generated by Clothoid minimizes the effect of lateral force to the passenger. The validity of the proposed method is verified by simulations.