Collision avoidance path planning for hospital robot with consideration of disabled person's movement characteristic

A novel algorithm of collision avoidance path planning, especially for hospital robot, is proposed. The algorithm puts into consideration the movement characteristic of various kinds of disabled person, which are represented by wheelchair user and crutch user here. A model which implies the energy to move to a certain point from present location is introduced for each kind of disabled person. The model does not only consist of the distance to target point, but also the rotation angle and the person's easiness to change direction. Based on what kind of person the oncoming person is, the robot uses the appropriate model and estimates the easiest path for the person to move. Then, the robot plans an avoidance path.