3D traversability analysis and path planning based on mechanical effort for UGVs in forest environments

• Published in: Robotics and autonomous systems 2024-01, Vol.171, p.104560, Article 104560
• Main Authors: Carvalho, Afonso E., Ferreira, João Filipe, Portugal, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3D navigation; Forestry robotics; Mechanical effort; Path planning; Traversability analysis; UGV
• ISSN: 0921-8890; 1872-793X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.robot.2023.104560

Autonomous navigation in rough and dynamic 3D environments is a major challenge for modern robotics. This paper presents a novel traversability analysis and path planning technique that processes 3D point cloud maps to compute terrain gradient information and detect the presence of obstacles to generate efficient paths. These avoid unnecessary slope changes when more conservative paths are available, potentially promoting fuel economy, reducing the wear on the equipment and the associated risks. The proposed approach is shown to outperform existing techniques both in realistic 3D simulation scenarios as well as in a real forest dataset, in which it also generates paths that are comparable to the ones drawn by humans with different backgrounds and expertise levels. •Novel 3D traversability analysis technique based on terrain gradient information.•Promotes efficient planning and autonomous navigation in forest environments.•Minimizes mechanical effort, fostering fuel economy, and reduced wear on equipment.•Validated through experiments in simulated and real-world forest environments.•Comparative analysis against state-of-the-art methods and human planning expertise.