Effective Motion planning and Navigation for Reconfigurable Mobile Robots using Modified A* Algorithm

Abstract

Robotic systems that can transform their structure while in operation are known as reconfigurable robots. The additional configuration flexibility makes them ideal for a variety of industrial applications involving motion planning, such as sanitizing, space vehicle maintenance, and surveillance. Every floor cleaning robot needs to have a coverage route planning strategy. Navigation and its planning in the case of a moving cleaning robot, using a grid map is the subject of this paper. An essential assumption has been made here, that the given autonomous vehicle is fully operational and has a consistent reactive navigation system. As a result, such topics are not covered in this article. The study introduces an enhancement to the conventional A* algorithm. These changes are particularly concerned with computational effort, reconfiguration time, and path efficiency. These were then tested in a simulation-based circumstance with varying degrees of environmental complexity, which demonstrated the utility of the proposed algorithm. The results show that the suggested technique showcases a good performance in terms of the area covered and the distance traveled.