Method rapidly verifies that a robot will avoid collisions

As part of its motion planning process, a robot typically runs “safety check” algorithms that verify its trajectory is collision-free. The researchers accomplished this using a special algorithmic technique, called sum-of-squares programming, and adapted it to effectively solve the safety check problem. This technique could be especially useful for robots that must move rapidly avoid collisions in spaces crowded with objects, such as food preparation robots in a commercial kitchen. It is also well-suited for situations where robot collisions could cause injuries, like home health robots that care for frail patients. However, each time the robot moves, a new hyperplane needs to be recomputed to perform the safety check.