Apparatus for planning path of robot and method thereof

An apparatus for planning a path of a robot comprising:

• a path generator to form a shape space that includes a start point, a goal point, and obstacle information so as to generate a moving path of the robot, and to generate one or more moving paths of the robot within the shape space;
• a storage unit to store the moving paths generated by the path generator in a database;
• a first path planning unit to select a specific path that has a minimum operation range of the robot and a minimum constraint caused by the obstacle from among the stored moving paths, and to plan the selected path;
• a controller to enable the robot to perform a first motion along the path planned by the first path planning unit;
• and
• a second path planning unit to pre-plan a path for a second motion of the robot while the robot performs the first motion,
• wherein the planning the specific path that has the minimum operation range of the robot and the minimum constraint caused by the obstacle from among the stored moving paths comprises generating a first path from the start point toward the goal point and a second path from the goal point toward the start point and planning a path that is generated to be a fastest path among the first path and the second path.

A method for planning a path of a robot comprising:

• forming by a processor a shape space that includes a start point, a goal point, and obstacle information so as to generate a moving path of the robot, the start point being obtained when a shape at an initial position before the robot performs the first motion is formed in the shape space and the goal point being obtained when a shape at a goal position where the robot performs a motion is formed in the shape space;
• generating by a processor one or more moving paths of the robot within the shape space, and storing the generated moving paths in a database, the generating comprising generating a first path from the start point toward the goal point and a second path from the goal point toward the start point, and planning a path that is generated to be a fastest path among the first path and the second path;
• selecting a specific path that has a minimum operation range of the robot and a minimum constraint caused by the obstacle from among the stored moving paths, and planning the selected path;
• enabling the robot to perform a first motion along the planned path;
• and
• pre-planning a path for a second motion of the robot while the robot performs the motion.