A Novel Obstacle Bitmap Formulation for Homotopic Path Planning Method Applied to Terrestrial Mobile Robot

In this paper a new bitmap representation of configuration space compatible with the Homotopic Path Planning Method (HPPM) is presented. Bitmap methodology has been developed to extend the application field of the HPPM in discrete workspaces. In the proposed bitmap representation each obstacle is modeled in the configuration space as a semi-algebraic expression using the Smooth High Canonical Piecewise Linear (SHC-PWL) formulation. For HPPM a bitmap representation through semi-algebraic expressions implies the capability to solve complex environments with obstacles in continuous and discrete configuration spaces. Three numerical study cases are presented to show the potential applications of the proposed bitmap representation for applications in real autonomous mobile robots. Finally, some points and future work derived from the analysis of study cases are discussed.