Software which automatically routes cables in a power reticulation design system

The subject of this paper is the development of an automatic cable router for use in the design of electricity distribution networks. Very little previous research has been done on finding optimal cable routing configurations from first principles. By “first principles”, we mean that the problem is approached by considering a set of points as input and not an enumeration of all possible paths (from which an optimal solution is obtained by search). The research described in this paper approaches the problem from first principles leading to the development of two prototypes. The Lee router is based on a printed circuit board routing method and the Track router is based on computational geometry. Both prototypes will find the optimal routes between a set of points while avoiding predefined obstacles. The set of points represents substations, junctions and consumer connections, while the obstacles represent areas that the distribution cables may not cross.