Abstract
A novel real-time path planning algorithm suitable for implementation on a small mobile robot is introduced. The algorithm can be used as the basis for mapping unknown or partially known environments and is tested in a specially developed simulation environment in Matlab(R). Simulations results are presented demonstrating that the algorithm can readily be implemented to allow a small robot to navigate in various unknown and partially known environments. The main characteristics of the algorithm include simplicity, ease of implementation, speed, and efficiency, thereby being especially suitable for small robots. Furthermore, for partially known environments, another algorithm is proposed to predefine an optimal path taking into account information provided regarding the environment.