Real-Time Path Planning and Navigation for a Web-Based Mobile Robot Using a Modified Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm

This paper presents the use of a modified ant colony optimization algorithm and interactive web technologies for the problems of real-time path planning and navigation for an autonomous mobile robot. Assume that the mobile robot serves in an office building for delivering documents and packages, and all staff in different locations can assign tasks to the robot via a web-based application. Therefore, how to rapidly determine or update the path planning for the robot is a top priority. In this paper, we firstly apply interactive web technologies to develop the web-based application including two interfaces of client-side and server-side. The client-side is a graphical user interface for task assignments and monitoring real-time state of the mobile robot; moreover, the server-side interface combines the computation kernel of a modified ant colony optimization algorithm for generating a feasible path planning with a database management system for recording purpose. Secondly, a precise indoor localization system for the mobile robot using wireless sensor network and binocular vision is also presented. Finally, simulation results show that our proposed approach allows users to assign tasks to the mobile robot via the Internet, and then the mobile robot can complete these tasks along a feasible path that is generated by a modified ant colony optimization algorithm. Key-Words: Ant colony optimization, mobile robot, path planning, web-based interface, wireless sensor network localization