Research on Path Planning for Unmanned Charging Vehicles based on Improved A* Algorithm

As a key part of autonomous driving technology, path planning is of great value. In response to the path planning issues faced in static practical application scenarios, such as the waste of algorithmic node resources, low search efficiency, insufficient smoothness of the path, and lack of safety assurance in the algorithm, an improved bidirectional A* algorithm is proposed. Firstly, a grid map of a simulated parking lot is constructed, and the direction of the search node is controlled by the optimized heuristic function. Secondly, a further investigation is conducted on the neighboring nodes of the child nodes.. Lastly, a B-spline curve is utilized to smooth the path, enhancing the driving smoothness of the robot. The results demonstrated that the improved algorithm is more capable of planning a safe and reliable path compared to other algorithms, with a shorter duration, higher efficiency, and greater applicability to practical scenarios.