Page 208 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics

Metric Path Planning
inserted into conducting foam, so large potential differences cannot
develop. When building, testing, and servicing electronic equipment in
which MOS devices are present, the technician’s body and all test equip-
ment should be kept at direct-current (DC) ground potential.
Metal-oxide-semiconductor technology lends itself well to the fabri-
cation of digital ICs. Several MOS logic families have been developed.
These are especially useful in high-density memory applications. Many
microcomputer chips make use of MOS technology.
See also INTEGRATED CIRCUIT.
METRIC PATH PLANNING
Metric path planning is a scheme of robotic navigation in which the ma-
chine attempts to find the optimum path between two points. This gener-
ally requires a computer map of the environment,containing all possible (or
probable) routes the robot might take from the starting point to the goal.
A common example of metric path planning is the choice of a route
along a highway system between two towns. Suppose a traveler intends to
take a trip from town X to town Y. These are the initial node and the goal
node, respectively. A map is required, showing all the highways and roads
between the two towns that constitute possible or reasonable routes. This
map constitutes the representation. The more detail the map shows, the
better. The map should be as up to date as possible, and should include
such information as whether a road is two-lane or four-lane, zones where
road maintenance is being carried out, the irregularity of the terrain, and
the general traffic density likely to be found on each section of road.
Using this information, the traveler plans the trip; this planning process
constitutes an algorithm. Stop-overs might be planned, depending on the
length of the trip; these are intermediate nodes or waypoints.
A robot can plan its route in exactly the same way as a traveler going from
town X to town Y. Ideally, the machine will choose one, and only one, opti-
mal path between its starting point and its goal. This optimal path might be
the one that takes the least time; alternatively, it might be the one that re-
quires the least expenditure of energy. The most time-efficient path might
coincide with the most energy-efficient one, but this is not always the case.
See also COMPUTER MAP. Compare GRAPHICAL PATH PLANNING and TOPOLOGICAL PATH
PLANNING.

MICROCOMPUTER
A microcomputer is a small computer with the central processing unit (CPU)
enclosed in a single integrated-circuit (IC) package. The microcomputer
CPU is sometimes called a microprocessor.
Microcomputers vary in sophistication and memory storage capac-
ity, depending on the intended use. Some personal microcomputers are

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