2016/02/17 by Kiril Solovey, Solovey, Kiril, Oren Salzman +3 · 3 citations
Computer Science · Engineering · #Computational Geometry (cs.CG) #Computational Geometry and Mesh Generation #FOS: Computer and information sciences #FOS: Mathematics #Probability (math.PR) #Robotic Path Planning Algorithms #Robotics (cs.RO) #Robotics and Sensor-Based Localization
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1602.05460
openalex publication_date 2016/02/17 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Roadmaps constructed by many sampling-based motion planners coincide, in the absence of obstacles, with standard models of random geometric graphs (RGGs). Those models have been studied for several decades and by now a rich body of literature exists analyzing various properties and types of RGGs. In their seminal work on optimal motion planning Karaman and Frazzoli (2011) conjectured that a sampling-based planner has a certain property if the underlying RGG has this property as well. In this paper we settle this conjecture and leverage it for the development of a general framework for the analysis of sampling-based planners. Our framework, which we call localization-tessellation, allows for easy transfer of arguments on RGGs from the free unit-hypercube to spaces punctured by obstacles, which are geometrically and topologically much more complex. We demonstrate its power by providing alternative and (arguably) simple proofs for probabilistic completeness and asymptotic (near-)optimality of probabilistic roadmaps (PRMs). Furthermore, we introduce several variants of PRMs, analyze them using our framework, and discuss the implications of the analysis.