Path Planning Based on the Improved A* Algorithm

To address the issues of collisions or path planning failures when using the traditional A* algorithm for global path planning in smart cars encountering obstacles, this paper proposes an improved A* algorithm for global path planning. First, in the improved A* algorithm, the traditional eight search directions are reduced to five, enhancing path search efficiency. Second, the heuristic function h(n) is optimized, and a weight coefficient is introduced. To further improve path smoothness, Bézier curves are applied to optimize the path, enabling smoother and more continuous turns for the robot. Experimental results in PyCharm demonstrate that the improved A* algorithm requires fewer search nodes, achieves faster search times, and generates shorter paths, thereby improving path planning efficiency and making it more suitable for smart car path planning.