Enhancing Robot Navigation Efficiency Using Cellular Automata with Active Cells

Abstract

Enhancing robot navigation efficiency is a crucial objective in modern robotics. Robots relying on external navigation systems are often susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and encounter environmental disturbances, resulting in orientation errors within their surroundings. Therefore, the study employed an internal navigation system to enhance robot navigation efficacy under interference conditions, based on the analysis of the internal parameters and the external signals. This article presents details of the robot’s autonomous operation, which allows for setting the robot's trajectory using an embedded map. The robot’s navigation process involves counting the number of wheel revolutions as well as adjusting wheel orientation after each straight path section. In this article, an autonomous robot navigation system has been presented that leverages an embedded control navigation map utilising cellular automata with active cells which can effectively navigate in an environment containing various types of obstacles. By analysing the neighbouring cells of the active cell, the cellular environment determines which cell should become active during the robot’s next movement step. This approach ensures the robot’s independence from external control inputs. Furthermore, the accuracy and speed of the robot’s movement have been further enhanced using a hexagonal mosaic for navigation surface mapping. This concept of utilising on cellular automata with active cells has been extended to the navigation of a group of robots on a shared navigation surface, taking into account the intersections of the robots’ trajectories over time. To achieve this, a distance control module has been used that records the travelled trajectories in terms of wheel turns and revolutions.