Collision-free robotic path planning using the elastic band method
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17979/ja-cea.2025.46.12243Keywords:
Path Planning, Robotics technology, Collaborative robotAbstract
This work proposes a new automatic collision avoidance algorithm for industrial and collaborative robots. The developed algorithm is based on the elastic band method, which has proven effective in mobile robots. The proposed planner starts from an initial trajectory that is evaluated to detect any potential collisions. If a collision is detected between two points along the initial trajectory, the elastic band-based trajectory algorithm intervenes, generating a transition point between them to avoid the collision. This approach has been validated both in simulation and in real-world scenarios, using a seven-degree-of-freedom collaborative robot in an inspection task aimed at quality control. The results obtained demonstrate that the robot’s trajectory adapts autonomously, which increases operational safety and significantly reduces the effort required to program the robot’s motion.
References
Barari, A., de Sales Guerra Tsuzuki, M., Cohen, Y., Macchi, M., 10 2021. Editorial: intelligent manufacturing systems towards industry 4.0 era. DOI: 10.1007/s10845-021-01769-0
Chen, L., Liu, R., Jia, D., Xian, S., Ma, G., 1 2025. Improvement of the teb algorithm for local path planning of car-like mobile robots based on fuzzy logic control. Actuators 14. DOI: 10.3390/act14010012
Deng, X., Hu, P., Li, Z., Zhang, W., He, D., Chen, Y., 8 2025. Reinforcement learning-based five-axis continuous inspection method for complex free- form surface. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 94. DOI: 10.1016/j.rcim.2025.102990
Jia, H., Chen, H., Chen, C., Huang, Y., Lu, Y., Gao, R., Yu, L., 8 2024. Research on path planning technology of a line scanning measurement robot based on the cad model. Actuators 13. DOI: 10.3390/act13080310
Li, S., Chen, D., Wang, J., 7 2021. An optimal singularity-free motion planning method for a 6-dof parallel manipulator. Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application 48, 290–299. DOI: 10.1108/IR-04-2020-0079
Liu, Y., Yi, W., Feng, Z., Yao, J., Zhao, Y., 4 2024. Design and motion planning of a 7-dof assembly robot with heavy load in spacecraft module. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 86, 102645. DOI: 10.1016/j.rcim.2023.102645
Ou, X., You, Z., He, X., 5 2024. Local path planner for mobile robot considering future positions of obstacles. Processes 12. DOI: 10.3390/pr12050984
Quinlan, S., Khatib, O., 1993. Elastic bands: Connecting path planning and control. In: [1993] Proceedings IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. IEEE, pp. 802–807.
Sadaoui, S. E., Mehdi-Souzani, C., Lartigue, C., Brahim, M., 12 2022. Automatic path planning for high performance measurement by laser plane sensors. Optics and Lasers in Engineering 159. DOI: 10.1016/j.optlaseng.2022.107194
Secil, S., Ozkan, M., 7 2023. A collision-free path planning method for industrial robot manipulators considering safe human–robot interaction. Intelligent Service Robotics 16, 323–359. DOI: 10.1007/s11370-023-00465-7
Tang, Q., Ma, L., Zhao, D., Sun, Y., Lei, J., Wang, Q., 10 2024. A dual-robot cooperative arc welding path planning algorithm based on multi-objective cross-entropy optimization. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 89, 102760. DOI: 10.1016/j.rcim.2024.102760
Wu, L., Zang, X., Yin, W., Zhang, X., Li, C., Zhu, Y., Zhao, J., 2024. Pose and path planning for industrial robot surface machining based on direction fields. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.
Xiao, Z., Wang, Z., Liu, D., Wang, H., 8 2022. A path planning algorithm for pcb surface quality automatic inspection. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 33, 1829–1841. DOI: 10.1007/s10845-021-01766-3
Zhang, F., Li, L., Xu, P., Zhang, P., 5 2024a. Enhanced path planning and obstacle avoidance based on high-precision mapping and positioning. Sensors 24. DOI: 10.3390/s24103100
Zhang, L., An, N., Ma, Z., 8 2024b. Research of hybrid path planning with improved a* and teb in static and dynamic environments. Journal of Supercomputing 80, 18009–18047. DOI: 10.1007/s11227-024-06155-0
Zhong, R. Y., Xu, X., Klotz, E., Newman, S. T., 2017. Intelligent manufacturing in the context of industry 4.0: A review. Engineering 3, 616–630. DOI: 10.1016/J.ENG.2017.05.015
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Cloe Atxurra, Aitor Llona, Itziar Cabanes, Aitziber Mancisidor, Estibaliz Garrote
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
