Time-Efficient Path Planning for Semi-Rigid Multi-Robot Formations

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for execution and planning-time efficient path planning for a formation of robots moving in complex indoor environments. Our approach combines the Voronoi Diagram (VD) with spline-based path planning to create smooth paths with limited curvature. We also incorporate free spaces into the VD to reduce the maximum curvature of the paths. Due to the high obstacle clearance enabled by VDs and the reduced curvature, we can reach higher velocities, given a permissible control error. Our simulation evaluation uses 200 randomly generated paths and compares the results with a splined Relaxed A* path planner. Our method saves several seconds for a 70-meter-long path with significantly reduced tracking error. These results demonstrate the potential of our approach for time-efficient path planning in complex indoor environments.