Autonomous navigation

Article By:

Michelson, Robert C. School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Smyrna, Georgia.

Last reviewed:2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB000130

Autonomous navigation means that a vehicle is able to plan its path and execute its plan without human intervention. In some cases remote navigation aids are used in the planning process, while at other times the only information available to compute a path is based on input from sensors aboard the vehicle itself. An autonomous robot is one which not only can maintain its own stability as it moves but also can plan its movements. Autonomous robots use navigation aids when possible but can also rely on visual, auditory, and olfactory cues. Once basic position information is gathered in the form of triangulated signals or environmental perception, machine intelligence must be applied to translate some basic motivation (reason for leaving the present position) into a route and motion plan. This plan may have to accommodate the estimated or communicated intentions of other autonomous robots in order to prevent collisions, while considering the dynamics of the robot's own movement envelope.

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