Path planning for autonomous moving devices

A method for moving a mobile robot from an origin towards a global destination within an environment, the method comprising:

• receiving a global path to travel from the origin to the global destination within the environment;
• collecting sensor data from part of the environment;
• creating a diffusion map for the part of the environment from the sensor data, the diffusion map based on a plurality of grid points and indicating at least one other object within the part of the environment, the diffusion map defining transition probabilities between grid points in the plurality of grid points including taking into account the at least one other object;
• determining a path to make progress from a current position of the mobile robot in the part of the environment towards the global destination based on the transition probabilities;
• and
• moving the mobile robot along the path for a specified amount of time to a local destination.

A mobile robot, the mobile robot comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• system memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions configured to cause the processor to:
• collect sensor data from part of an environment;
• create a diffusion map for the part of the environment from the sensor data, the diffusion map based on a plurality of grid points and indicating at least one other object within the part of the environment, the diffusion map defining transition probabilities between grid points in the plurality of grid points including taking into account the at least one other object;
• determine a path to make progress from a current position of the mobile robot in the part of the environment towards a global destination based on the transition probabilities;
• and
• control motion components of the mobile robot to move the mobile robot along the path for a specified amount of time to a local destination.