Path Planning VIs
- Updated2023-02-21
- 2 minute(s) read
Owning Palette: Robotics VIs
Requires: Robotics Module. This topic might not match its corresponding palette in LabVIEW depending on your operating system, licensed product(s), and target.
Use the Path Planning VIs to calculate a path to a goal point in a map that represents the robot environment.
The Path Planning VIs calculate paths that are optimal, or of the lowest possible cost, for the conditions you specify. Cost refers to a positive number that represents user-defined variables that the Path Planning VIs minimize when calculating paths, such as distance between points or energy required to traverse the area. A cost of Inf means the area of the map cannot be traversed, for example, because an obstacle blocks travel through the area.
You assign costs to specific areas of the map. For example, you can use the Enqueue Change to Edge Cost VI to set the cost, which might represent distance, of traversing between two points in a directed graph map. The cost of a path is the sum of the costs of traversing all the points that make up the path.
| Palette Object | Description |
|---|---|
| A* | Plans a least-cost path through a static map to a goal reference within a map. Use this VI to return a single, optimal path. |
| AD* | Plans a dynamic path through a map to the goal you specify. The first time this VI runs, the VI returns an initial path to a goal node within the map you specify in the Initialize AD* VI. |
| Initialize AD* | Initializes a path planning session with which the AD* VI operates. |
You can use the VIs on the following subpalettes to create a map on which the Path Planning VIs operate.
| Subpalette | Description |
|---|---|
| Directed Graph Map VIs | Use the Directed Graph Map VIs to create and control a map, implemented as a directed graph, through which a mobile robot can navigate. |
| Occupancy Grid Map VIs | Use the Occupancy Grid Map VIs to create and control an occupancy grid map through which a mobile robot can navigate. Occupancy grid maps are useful for representing robot environments in which you know the cost of traversing each point in the map. |
Examples
Refer to the following VIs for examples of using the Path Planning VIs:
- labview\examples\robotics\Path Planning\ADstar\ADstar on Occupancy Grid\Anytime D Star on an Occupancy Grid.lvproj
- labview\examples\robotics\Path Planning\Astar\Astar on Voronoi Graph\Astar on Voronoi.lvproj
- labview\examples\robotics\Path Planning\Astar\Astar on Occupancy Grid\Astar on Occupancy Grid.lvproj