Harmonic potential based communication-aware navigation and beamforming in cluttered spaces with full channel-state information

In this paper, we introduce a communication-aware algorithm to navigate mobile agents with non-trivial dynamics in cluttered environments. The navigation technique is based on the Harmonic Potential Field (HPF) approach to motion-planning. The proposed approach employs beamforming at the Base-Station (BS) simultaneously with the robot's motion to increase the Channel Spectral Efficiency (CSE). The approach is developed and basic proofs of performance are provided. Realistic simulations using the WINNER-II wireless channel model are used to demonstrate the navigation algorithm.