A Reactive Collision Avoidance Algorithm for Nonholonomic Vehicles

Abstract

This paper presents a reactive collision avoidance algorithm for vehicles with unicycle-type nonholonomic constraints. Static and dynamic obstacles are avoided by keeping a constant avoidance angle to the obstacle. The algorithm compensates for the obstacle velocity, which can be timevarying. Conditions are derived under which successful collision avoidance is mathematically proved, and the theoretical results are supported by simulations. The proposed algorithm makes only limited sensing requirements of the vehicle. It is intuitive, has a low computational complexity and is suitable also for vehicles with a limited speed envelope or heavy linear acceleration constraints. This is demonstrated by applying the algorithm to a vehicle with a constant forward speed.