In this paper, an automated motion planner is proposed for coordinating collision-free motions among dynamic moving objects or machines in a 3D space. Based on the concept of modified path-velocity decomposition, an algorithm is proposed for evaluating the performance of different motion strategies. As a result, the motion planner will coordinate collision-free motions for multiple uncontrollable/controllable objects moving in a shared environment. A dynamic object can also be a multi-body object, such as a robot. The applicability of the proposed approach is demonstrated through two examples. The results show that multiple controllable and uncontrollable machines can work together in an industrial environment by efficiently avoiding collisions.

Keywords: collision avoidance, motion planning, space/time graph, speed alteration method, flight surveillance

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Received April 25, 1997; accepted October 9, 1998.
Communicated by Zen Chen.