Sampling-based coverage path planning for complex 3D structures

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2012.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Englot, Brendan J
Other Authors: Franz S. Hover.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78209
_version_ 1811091688251195392
author Englot, Brendan J
author2 Franz S. Hover.
author_facet Franz S. Hover.
Englot, Brendan J
author_sort Englot, Brendan J
collection MIT
description Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2012.
first_indexed 2024-09-23T15:06:22Z
format Thesis
id mit-1721.1/78209
institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology
language eng
last_indexed 2024-09-23T15:06:22Z
publishDate 2013
publisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology
record_format dspace
spelling mit-1721.1/782092019-04-12T23:37:24Z Sampling-based coverage path planning for complex 3D structures Englot, Brendan J Franz S. Hover. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineering. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2012. This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-186). Path planning is an essential capability for autonomous robots, and many applications impose challenging constraints alongside the standard requirement of obstacle avoidance. Coverage planning is one such task, in which a single robot must sweep its end effector over the entirety of a known workspace. For two-dimensional environments, optimal algorithms are documented and well-understood. For threedimensional structures, however, few of the available heuristics succeed over occluded regions and low-clearance areas. This thesis makes several contributions to sampling-based coverage path planning, for use on complex three-dimensional structures. First, we introduce a new algorithm for planning feasible coverage paths. It is more computationally efficient in problems of complex geometry than the well-known dual sampling method, especially when high-quality solutions are desired. Second, we present an improvement procedure that iteratively shortens and smooths a feasible coverage path; robot configurations are adjusted without violating any coverage constraints. Third, we propose a modular algorithm that allows the simple components of a structure to be covered using planar, back-and-forth sweep paths. An analysis of probabilistic completeness, the first of its kind applied to coverage planning, accompanies each of these algorithms, as well as ensemble computational results. The motivating application throughout this work has been autonomous, in-water ship hull inspection. Shafts, propellers, and control surfaces protrude from a ship hull and pose a challenging coverage problem at the stern. Deployment of a sonar-equipped underwater robot on six large vessels has led to robust operations that yield triangle mesh models of these structures; these models form the basis for planning inspections at close range. We give results from a coverage plan executed at the stern of a US Coast Guard Cutter, and results are also presented from an indoor experiment using a precision scanning laser and gantry positioning system. by Brendan J. Englot. Ph.D. 2013-03-28T18:16:54Z 2013-03-28T18:16:54Z 2012 2012 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78209 829699625 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 186 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Mechanical Engineering.
Englot, Brendan J
Sampling-based coverage path planning for complex 3D structures
title Sampling-based coverage path planning for complex 3D structures
title_full Sampling-based coverage path planning for complex 3D structures
title_fullStr Sampling-based coverage path planning for complex 3D structures
title_full_unstemmed Sampling-based coverage path planning for complex 3D structures
title_short Sampling-based coverage path planning for complex 3D structures
title_sort sampling based coverage path planning for complex 3d structures
topic Mechanical Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78209
work_keys_str_mv AT englotbrendanj samplingbasedcoveragepathplanningforcomplex3dstructures