A Study on information Processing using the Vibrating Potential Field. An Approach to the Obstacle-Avoidance Problem.
Hiroshi Yokoi, Yukinori Kakazu · TRANSACTIONS OF THE JAPAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS Series C · 1993
In this paper, we aim to solve the obstacle-avoidance problem using the vibrating potential method (VPM). The obstacle-avoidance problem is famous inthe field of a navigation of automatically guided vehicles (AGV). There are many kinds of behavior for a group of AGVs such as forward and backward movement, rotation, fission, fusion, avoidance of obstacles and passing through free-form narrow paths. Since these types of behavior are capable of changing according to the environmental surroundings of the AGVs or their goals, the problem can be described using three systems : "Obstacles, " "AGVs" and "Goals". For this problem, we use the VPM to obtain a strategy for achieving a goal for each AGV. In the VPM, an environment is constructed by means of a wave motion propagated from the obstacles, AGVs and goals. These subsystems of the obstacle-avoidance problem system interact with each other through the information from the detected wave motion from the environmental surroundings. Using a VPM, each AGV can decide upon its movement through detection of wave motion from the environment surroundings without specific problem-oriented programming. Furthermore, the movement of a group of AGVs is represented in computer simulations for such situation as approaching behavior for each goal, avoiding obstacles and fission and fusion behavior.