Devise an algorithm to command an autonomous robot vehicle to travel to five predetermined locations, kill five weeds of either color (blue and pink), and then report the number of weeds killed in designated locations. The robot must be able to travel through a course while avoiding hitting obstacles. Additionally, the robot must be able to recognize the color of the weeds and report the number of weeds in the zone corresponding to the weeds’ color. Information about the course such as location of the obstacles and weeds are to be displayed in LabVIEW.
We used the A* algorithm to design a path for the robot to traverse the course to the various way points. As the robot moves through the course, obstacles are detected and the course map is updated. We created an array of potential obstacles and when the LADAR sensor detects a point that is close to a possible obstacle, that obstacle is marked in the map. Depending on the location of the robot relative to the obstacle wall, we predicted the entire obstacle box and marked the additional walls. A* is called again with the updated map and is able to create a path that avoids the new obstacles. Additionally, we used heuristics that are different from the homework problem. Instead of Manhattan distance, we used Euclidean distance as heuristic, which gave us better path in some circumstances.
We used the A* algorithm to design a path for the robot to traverse the course to the various way points. As the robot moves through the course, obstacles are detected and the course map is updated. We created an array of potential obstacles and when the LADAR sensor detects a point that is close to a possible obstacle, that obstacle is marked in the map. Depending on the location of the robot relative to the obstacle wall, we predicted the entire obstacle box and marked the additional walls. A* is called again with the updated map and is able to create a path that avoids the new obstacles. Additionally, we used heuristics that are different from the homework problem. Instead of Manhattan distance, we used Euclidean distance as heuristic, which gave us better path in some circumstances.
