Real-time path-planning using mixed-integer linear programming and global cost-to-go maps

With the advance in the fields of computer science, control and optimization, it is now possible to build aerial vehicles which do not need pilots. An important capability for such autonomous vehicles is to be able to generate their own path to navigate in a constrained environment and accomplish mission objectives, such as reaching waypoints in minimal time. To account for dynamic changes in the environment, perturbations, modeling errors and modifications in the mission scenario, the trajectory needs to be continuously re-optimized online based on the latest available updates. However, to allow for high update rates, the trajectory optimization problem needs to be simple enough to be solved quickly. Optimizing for a continuous trajectory of a dynamically-constrained vehicle in the presence of obstacles is an infinite-dimension nonlinear optimal control problem. Such a problem is intractable in real-time and simplifications need to be made. In this thesis, the author presents the mechanisms used to design a path-planner with real-time and long-range capabilities. The approach relies on converting the optimal control problem into a parameter optimization one whose horizon can be reduced by using a global cost-to-go function to provide an approximate cost for the tail of the trajectory.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Toupet, Olivier

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Eric Feron.

• Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35290

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/35290