Secure Angle-Based Geometric Elimination (SAGE) for Microrobot Path Planning

Area of Science:

• Robotics and Automation
• Micro-robotics
• Path Planning Algorithms

Background:

• Microrobot navigation in confined spaces necessitates path planning for efficiency and collision avoidance.
• Existing methods often create collision-prone paths by neglecting wall boundaries during simplification.
• A need exists for robust algorithms that guarantee collision-free trajectories for microrobots.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce Secure Angle-based Geometric Elimination (SAGE), a path-simplification algorithm for microrobot navigation.
• To enable real-time, collision-free trajectory generation from pixel-level shortest paths.
• To enhance the efficiency and safety of microrobot operations in constrained environments.

Main Methods:

• SAGE is a single-pass algorithm that simplifies pixel-level paths into low-complexity trajectories.
• It analyzes triplets of points (p_i, p_i+1, p_i+2), removing the middle point based on turning angle thresholds or direct segment collision-free checks.
• The algorithm was integrated with Dijkstra and RRT planners and compared computationally to the Ramer-Douglas-Peucker algorithm.

Main Results:

• SAGE achieved approximately 5% shorter path length and 20% lower turning cost compared to conventional methods.
• The algorithm demonstrated a 0% collision rate across complex maze and vascular environments.
• Computational performance was comparable to the Ramer-Douglas-Peucker algorithm.

Conclusions:

• SAGE provides an efficient and reliable framework for high-speed, collision-free microrobot navigation.
• The algorithm's effectiveness was validated through quantitative analysis and experimental microrobot demonstrations.
• SAGE is suitable for automation in lab-on-a-chip, chemical-reaction, and molecular-diagnostic systems.