COLLISION-FREE MOTION PLANNING OF TWO ROBOTS.

An approach to collision-free motion planning of two moving robots in a common workshop is presented. Each robot is represented by a sphere containing the wrist and the manipulator hand. The results from a strictly straight-line-trajectory planning method are utilized for planning a path avoiding potential collisions. Due to the distinct nature of the potential collisions between the two moving robots, a new classification of path requirement situations is presented and utilized for planning a collision-free path. Notions of collision map and time-scheduling are developed and applied for realizing a collision-free motion planning. A procedure is developed for the time scheduling of the straight-line trajectory. An example for the time scheduling of the trajectory shows the significance of the proposed approach.