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Main Authors: Liu, Jinyuan, Fu, Minglei, Shi, Ling, Yang, Chenguang, Zhang, Wenan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.11880
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author Liu, Jinyuan
Fu, Minglei
Shi, Ling
Yang, Chenguang
Zhang, Wenan
author_facet Liu, Jinyuan
Fu, Minglei
Shi, Ling
Yang, Chenguang
Zhang, Wenan
contents Tethered robots play a pivotal role in specialized environments such as disaster response and underground exploration, where their stable power supply and reliable communication offer unparalleled advantages. However, their motion planning is severely constrained by tether length limitations and entanglement risks, posing significant challenges to achieving optimal path planning. To address these challenges, this study introduces CDT-TCS (Convex Dissection Topology-based Tethered Configuration Search), a novel algorithm that leverages CDT Encoding as a homotopy invariant to represent topological states of paths. By integrating algebraic topology with geometric optimization, CDT-TCS efficiently computes the complete set of optimal feasible configurations for tethered robots at all positions in 2D environments through a single computation. Building on this foundation, we further propose three application-specific algorithms: i) CDT-TPP for optimal tethered path planning, ii) CDT-TMV for multi-goal visiting with tether constraints, iii) CDT-UTPP for distance-optimal path planning of untethered robots. All theoretical results and propositions underlying these algorithms are rigorously proven and thoroughly discussed in this paper. Extensive simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithms significantly outperform state-of-the-art methods in their respective problem domains. Furthermore, real-world experiments on robotic platforms validate the practicality and engineering value of the proposed framework.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_11880
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Fast Method for Planning All Optimal Homotopic Configurations for Tethered Robots and Its Extended Applications
Liu, Jinyuan
Fu, Minglei
Shi, Ling
Yang, Chenguang
Zhang, Wenan
Robotics
Tethered robots play a pivotal role in specialized environments such as disaster response and underground exploration, where their stable power supply and reliable communication offer unparalleled advantages. However, their motion planning is severely constrained by tether length limitations and entanglement risks, posing significant challenges to achieving optimal path planning. To address these challenges, this study introduces CDT-TCS (Convex Dissection Topology-based Tethered Configuration Search), a novel algorithm that leverages CDT Encoding as a homotopy invariant to represent topological states of paths. By integrating algebraic topology with geometric optimization, CDT-TCS efficiently computes the complete set of optimal feasible configurations for tethered robots at all positions in 2D environments through a single computation. Building on this foundation, we further propose three application-specific algorithms: i) CDT-TPP for optimal tethered path planning, ii) CDT-TMV for multi-goal visiting with tether constraints, iii) CDT-UTPP for distance-optimal path planning of untethered robots. All theoretical results and propositions underlying these algorithms are rigorously proven and thoroughly discussed in this paper. Extensive simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithms significantly outperform state-of-the-art methods in their respective problem domains. Furthermore, real-world experiments on robotic platforms validate the practicality and engineering value of the proposed framework.
title A Fast Method for Planning All Optimal Homotopic Configurations for Tethered Robots and Its Extended Applications
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.11880