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Robotics & Automation vocabulary · Machine Vision and Mobile Robots

Path planning

Meaning in robotics & automation, with examples

/ˈpæθ ˌplænɪŋ/nounAdvanced term

In robotics & automation, path planning means: Finding a route from a start point to a goal that avoids obstacles and meets limits such as the shortest distance, the shortest time or a safe clearance.

In Turkish: yol planlama, rota planlama, güzergah planlama

How it is used

Used for mobile robots, drones and robot arms. Common algorithms include A* (said 'A-star'), Dijkstra and RRT. Engineers separate global planning (the whole route on the map) from local planning (reacting to obstacles nearby).

Example sentences

  1. Path planning takes too long on the large map, so the robot waits a few seconds before it moves.

  2. We use a path planning algorithm to move the arm around the fixture without collisions.

Common collocations

  • path planning algorithm
  • global path
  • local planner
  • motion planning
  • plan a path
  • obstacle avoidanceThe ability of a robot to detect objects or people in its way with its sensors and change its path or speed so that it does not hit them.
  • SLAMShort for simultaneous localization and mapping: the method a mobile robot uses to build a map of an unknown area while working out its own position on that map.
  • trajectoryThe path a robot or axis follows together with its timing, meaning where it is and how fast it moves at each moment between the start and the end.
  • AMRShort for autonomous mobile robot: a robot that moves materials using maps and sensors such as LiDAR and cameras, choosing its own route and driving around obstacles.
  • waypointA point the robot passes through on its way to a target, used to shape the path and keep the arm away from obstacles. It is not a position where work is done.

More terms: Machine Vision and Mobile Robots

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