Path planning for winding motion of orthogonal snake-like robots based on improved A* algorithm
ZHANG Zehao
YU Chen
LIU Jian
Abstract：[Objective]A multi-dimensional improvement strategy was proposed to address the defects of the traditional A*algorithm in path planning of orthogonal snake-like robots,including large search range,excessive redundant corners and insufficient path smoothness,so as to generate planned paths adapted to the winding motion characteristics of snake-like robots.[Methods]Firstly,a weight coefficient was added to improve the heuristic function,realizing controllable adjustment of the algorithm's search range and improving search efficiency.Secondly,the redundant corner optimization method under the same cost was adopted to effectively reduce the number of redundant corners in the path.Then,the gradient descent method was introduced to generate the basic path suitable for the winding motion of snake-like robots.Finally,the lowess locally weighted regression smoothing method was used to re-smooth the path to further improve path smoothness.A co-simulation model was built using Adams software and Matlab software,and co-simulation tests were carried out on variable-amplitude paths and turning paths.[Results]The results show that the snake-like robot can achieve smooth amplitude switching from 0.982 3 to 0.576 3 with a turning angle of approximately 45°,and can complete two stable turning transformations in opposite directions.The rationality of the improved A* algorithm is verified,which provides a reference for motion path planning of snake-like robots.
Keywords：Snake-like robotPath planningJoint simulationImproved A* algorithm
Publication Date：2026-07-15
Online Publishing Date：2026-09-12(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 94-99 )