N-dimensional Convex Obstacle Avoidance using Hybrid Feedback Control (Extended version)

2024-03-17

AI Summary

This paper addresses autonomous robot navigation in unknown *n*-dimensional environments containing convex obstacles. We propose a safety-critical hybrid feedback control strategy. Its core innovation is a dual-mode switching mechanism triggered jointly by distance and line-of-sight accessibility: in obstacle-avoidance mode, motion is constrained to a two-dimensional cross-sectional manifold spanned by the obstacle and the target, eliminating path backtracking; Lyapunov-based stability analysis guarantees global asymptotic convergence and collision-free navigation. The method requires no obstacle modeling or prior global map, accommodates convex obstacles of arbitrary size and shape, and possesses rigorous scalability to *n* dimensions. Extensive 2D and 3D simulations validate its robust obstacle avoidance and reliable target convergence.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Localization, Mapping, and Navigation
• Natural Language Processing: Safety and Robustness
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Planning

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements

Abstract

This paper addresses the autonomous robot navigation problem in a priori unknown n-dimensional environments containing convex obstacles of arbitrary shapes and sizes. We propose a hybrid feedback control scheme that guarantees safe and global asymptotic convergence of the robot to a predefined target location. The proposed control strategy relies on a switching mechanism allowing the robot to operate either in the move-to-target mode or the obstacle-avoidance mode, based on its proximity to the obstacles and the availability of a clear straight path between the robot and the target. In the obstacle-avoidance mode, the robot is constrained to move within a two-dimensional plane that intersects the obstacle being avoided and the target, preventing it from retracing its path. The effectiveness of the proposed hybrid feedback controller is demonstrated through simulations in two-dimensional and three-dimensional environments.

Problem

• Autonomous Navigation
• Obstacle Avoidance
• Unknown Environment

Innovation

• Hybrid Feedback Control
• Autonomous Navigation
• Optimized Path Planning