Hexagonal Grid-Based Framework for Mobile Robot Navigation

The paper addresses the problem of mobile robots’ navigation using a hexagonal lattice. We carried out experiments in which we used a vehicle equipped with a set of sensors. Based on the data, a traversable map was created. The experimental results proved that hexagonal maps of an environment can be easily built based on sensor readings. The path planning method has many advantages: the situation in which obstacles surround the position of the robot or the target is easily detected, and we can influence the properties of the path, e.g., the distance from obstacles or the type of surface can be taken into account. A path can be smoothed more easily than with a rectangular grid.