Real-Time Trajectory Planning for Autonomous Mobile Robots

The domains of inspection, emergency response and surveillance have been revolutionized in recent years by the increase in capabilities of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) or even quadrupedal robots. While a large body of work covers topics addressing static scenarios, working with dynamic points of interest is still a challenge.

Finding a feasible and optimal way for a robot to move from one point to another in a dynamic environment is a complex task. The nature of the problem brings with it the real time adaptability challenges, efficient decision making and uncertainty. Although this Research Topic is focused on mobile robots trajectory planning, due to interaction, it is not possible to ignore other robotic subsystems: sensing, representation and actuations. The structure and content of the representation define what kinds of decisions the planner can make, and ultimately the set of action plans available to the robot.

Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:

• Sensing applications in mobile robots
• Localization of mobile robots
• Control of mobile robots
• Artificial intelligence in mobile robotics
• Autonomous underwater vehicles
• Deliberative and reactive trajectory planning
• Unmanned vehicles
• Collision avoidance
• Obstacle avoidance
• Surveillance of moving objects

Keywords: mobile robots, localisation, trajectory, autonomous, avoidance, surveillance

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.