Solving the Local Minimum Problem in Path Planning Algorithm based on the Virtual Potential Field and the Principles of Liquid Movement

Path planning and obstacle avoidance are important problems in intelligent mobile agent systems. In this paper, a novel path planning algorithm and a new obstacle avoidance approach to solve the local minimum problem of mobile agents are presented. This path planning algorithms is introduced based on the principles of liquid movement. In addition to, by modifying the potential function methodology for this algorithm, a new obstacle avoidance approach is presented. This new algorithm, by finding the collision free path, guarantees the global convergence to the target when the target is reachable. Also, in this paper, an online version of the algorithm is presented. Simulation results are given to show the effectiveness of the methodology.