Combining A* and dynamic window algorithm for dynamic path planning of visually impaired people using auxiliary travel equipment*

To address the limitations of conventional Auxiliary Travel Equipment for Visually Impaired People (ATE-VIP) in dynamic path planning, a method combining the A* algorithm and the Dynamic Window Approach (DWA) algorithm is proposed. Initially, considering the walking ability of visually impaired people, a method to reduce the path turns and smooth routes is proposed to shorten the length and total turning angle of the global path generated by the A* algorithm. Subsequently, an Ideal Mobility Model for Visually Impaired People (IMM-VIP) is established. Finally, multiple intermediate target points are extracted from the global path to guide the DWA algorithm for local path planning to obtain the reference trajectory. Simulation results demonstrate a 58.8% reduction in total turning angle compared to traditional methods, validating the effectiveness and feasibility of our approach. The incorporation of IMM-VIP in generating reference trajectories provides valuable insights for advancing ATE-VIP systems.