A motion planning and execution system for mobile robots driven by stepping motors

This paper describes motion planning and motion execution for a mobile robot driven by two individually controlled stepping motors. Movements with a constant amount of path velocity, starting from any position and orientation and ending at any goal position, are planned in two phases. The result of the first planning phase is a list of positions from which a smooth path is generated in the second planning phase. We show how path execution is performed, taking into consideration the dynamical constraints of the stepping motors. The approach allows to use very simple motion control hardware components without restriction of the vehicle's movement capabilities. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.