Optimal Path Planning of Mobile Robots Using IsoCost-Based Dynamic Programming

This paper proposes an optimal local path planning algorithm for mobile robots by means of the so-called IsoCost-based dynamic programming. This algorithm explores and finds the optimal paths to the goal point from different start points in the environment of the robot while avoiding arbitrary numbers and forms of obstacles. The concept of IsoCost HyperSurface (ICHS) is first explained and it is shown that with a certain cost value, the ICHS corresponding to optimal path planning surrounds all other ICHSs corresponding to non-optimal path planning algorithms. Based on this geometric property, agents are initiated and planned to explore and reveal the optimal ICHSs using dynamic programming. The optimality of the proposed method is proved and the results of this method are compared with those of Modified Potential Field and Bug2 algorithms, indicating that the proposed method surpasses the other two algorithms in terms of the optimality of path length and execution time.