Iacopo Gentilini

16-735 Robotic Motion Planning

Homework #2

Tangent Bug

I have implemented the Tangent Bug in this homework assignment. I have chosen this
algorithm because it has given me the possibility to think how a real robot works. The
discrete distance value I have calculated in the reality is the input of a distance sensor:
this is the only difference. Maybe, I can test my implementation in the future on a real
robot.

I have used the Matlab GUI to provide a graphic interface to draw obstacles, to set start
and end point, and to calculate the path.
With a first popup menu one can choose to draw as obstacles polygons or cubic spline
closed curves. To draw an obstacle one pushes the button “Draw obstacle” and sets
with the left mouse button the vertices (polygons) or the base points (for splines) of the
obstacles within the white area (robot workspace W). To end the process, one can click
with the right mouse button somewhere. To draw path start and end points one pushes
the button “Set start and end”, and sets with the left mouse button the two points within
the robot workspace W. One can now choose the type of the path planning algorithm to
use with a second popup menu. Finally, one pushes the button “Calculate” to draw the
path.

The Tangent Bug algorithm is based on the idea to use a robot equipped with a
distance sensor. If the robot is in a particular position in its free workspace Wfree the
sensor gives information about the distance between the robot and the obstacles WOi in
each discrete direction. Formally, we can represent this function as a saturated distance
function:

𝑇 𝑇
𝑚𝑖𝑛 d 𝑥, 𝑥 + 𝜆 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜗 , 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜗 s. t. 𝑥 + 𝜆 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜗 , 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜗 ∈ 𝐖𝐎𝐢 , if 𝜌𝑅 𝑥, 𝜗 < 𝑅
𝜌𝑅 𝑥, 𝜗 = 𝜆∈ 0,∞
𝑖
∞, otherwise

Obviously, infinity does not exist in real computers and therefore I will use a high
number. The name of this parameter is R_inf. The name of the parameter which
defines the sensor radius is R. I have implemented a Matlab function rho =
sensor(Workspace, X, step, x_max, y_max, j_max, i_max, R, R_inf)
which simulates the sensor. The parameter step is the dimension in the workspace of
each step that the robot does during its motion.

The robot starts moving toward to the goal direction qgoal. If the sensor feels the
presence of obstacles, indeed the distance function has some values less than R, some
intervals of continuity are defined on the boundary of the sensed objects. I have
implemented a Matlab function [Oi, dim_O] = int_cont(rho, step, X,
X_goal, R_inf) which calculated the intervals of continuity at a given point. In this
function a very important parameter is continuity_jump that defines when the
discrete distance function has a discontinuity. In this case there is a change between
two different intervals of continuity.

If the direction between the robot and the goal intersects an interval of continuity, the
robot will now move in the direction of the end point Oi of some interval of continuity
which minimizes the following heuristic function:

𝑑 𝑥, 𝑂𝑖 + 𝑑 𝑂𝑖 , 𝑞𝑔𝑜𝑎𝑙

When the direction between robot and the goal does not intersect any interval of
continuity the robot will start again to move in the goal direction.

In order to prevent that the algorithm fails in case of local minima of the heuristic
function, if the heuristic begins to increase a boundary following planning is used. At the
beginning the algorithm moves the robot in the same direction as the most recent
motion step. The boundary following motion ends when the following relationship is
fulfilled:

𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐 𝑕 < 𝑑𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑

and the robot will start again to move in the goal direction. In the above equation dreach is
the shortest distance between the goal and the blocking obstacle (or the distance
between the robot and the goal if there are no blocking obstacles) and dfollowed is the
shortest distance between the boundary which had been sensed and the goal. I have
implemented a Matlab function [d _reach, newdirection_angle] =
d_check(Oi, rho, X, X_goal, pre_direction_angle) which calculate the
distance dreach and the new motion direction. If the robot completes a cycle around the
obstacle the goal cannot be reached.
When the robot follows a boundary, the implemented algorithm moves the robot along
the orthogonal direction to the boundary normal vector:

∇𝐷 𝑥 where 𝐷 𝑥 = min 𝑑(𝑥, 𝑐)

𝑐∈ 𝑖 𝐖𝐎𝐢

However, if the robot goes too near to the boundary the implemented algorithm moves
the robot for one step along the boundary normal direction. The parameter that defines
the safety distance between robot and obstacles is offset*step.