Path Planning of Mobile Robots with an Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer and Dynamic Window Approach

To address the critical limitations of conventional Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) in path planning scenarios—including insufficient exploration capability during the initial phase, proneness to local optima entrapment, and inherent deficiency in dynamic obstacle avoidance—this paper proposes a multi-...

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Main Authors: Wenwei Chen, Lisang Liu, Liwei Zhang, Zhihui Lin, Jian Chen, Dongwei He
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/7/3999
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author Wenwei Chen
Lisang Liu
Liwei Zhang
Zhihui Lin
Jian Chen
Dongwei He
author_facet Wenwei Chen
Lisang Liu
Liwei Zhang
Zhihui Lin
Jian Chen
Dongwei He
author_sort Wenwei Chen
collection DOAJ
description To address the critical limitations of conventional Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) in path planning scenarios—including insufficient exploration capability during the initial phase, proneness to local optima entrapment, and inherent deficiency in dynamic obstacle avoidance—this paper proposes a multi-strategy enhanced GWO algorithm. Firstly, the Piecewise chaotic mapping is applied to initialize the Grey Wolf population, enhancing the initial population quality. Secondly, the linear convergence factor is modified to a nonlinear one to balance the algorithm’s global and local search capabilities. Thirdly, Evolutionary Population Dynamics (EPD) is incorporated to enhance the algorithm’s ability to escape local optima, and dynamic weights are used to improve convergence speed and accuracy. Finally, the algorithm is integrated with the Improved Dynamic Window Approach (IDWA) to enhance path smoothness and perform dynamic obstacle avoidance. The proposed algorithm is named PAGWO-IDWA. The results demonstrate that, compared to traditional GWO, PAGWO-IDWA reduces the path length, number of turns, and running time by 9.58%, 33.16%, and 30.31%, respectively. PAGWO-IDWA not only overcomes the limitations of traditional GWO but also enables effective path planning in dynamic environments, generating paths that are both safe and smooth, thus validating the effectiveness of the algorithm.
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spelling doaj-art-444a4e6daecd4f94a2141cebe10585d62025-08-20T03:08:44ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-04-01157399910.3390/app15073999Path Planning of Mobile Robots with an Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer and Dynamic Window ApproachWenwei Chen0Lisang Liu1Liwei Zhang2Zhihui Lin3Jian Chen4Dongwei He5School of Electronic, Electrical Engineering and Physics, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, ChinaSchool of Electronic, Electrical Engineering and Physics, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, ChinaSchool of Electronic, Electrical Engineering and Physics, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, ChinaSchool of Electronic, Electrical Engineering and Physics, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, ChinaSchool of Electronic, Electrical Engineering and Physics, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, ChinaSchool of Electronic, Electrical Engineering and Physics, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, ChinaTo address the critical limitations of conventional Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) in path planning scenarios—including insufficient exploration capability during the initial phase, proneness to local optima entrapment, and inherent deficiency in dynamic obstacle avoidance—this paper proposes a multi-strategy enhanced GWO algorithm. Firstly, the Piecewise chaotic mapping is applied to initialize the Grey Wolf population, enhancing the initial population quality. Secondly, the linear convergence factor is modified to a nonlinear one to balance the algorithm’s global and local search capabilities. Thirdly, Evolutionary Population Dynamics (EPD) is incorporated to enhance the algorithm’s ability to escape local optima, and dynamic weights are used to improve convergence speed and accuracy. Finally, the algorithm is integrated with the Improved Dynamic Window Approach (IDWA) to enhance path smoothness and perform dynamic obstacle avoidance. The proposed algorithm is named PAGWO-IDWA. The results demonstrate that, compared to traditional GWO, PAGWO-IDWA reduces the path length, number of turns, and running time by 9.58%, 33.16%, and 30.31%, respectively. PAGWO-IDWA not only overcomes the limitations of traditional GWO but also enables effective path planning in dynamic environments, generating paths that are both safe and smooth, thus validating the effectiveness of the algorithm.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/7/3999grey wolf optimizationchaotic mapconvergence factorevolutionary population dynamicsdynamic weightsdynamic window approach
spellingShingle Wenwei Chen
Lisang Liu
Liwei Zhang
Zhihui Lin
Jian Chen
Dongwei He
Path Planning of Mobile Robots with an Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer and Dynamic Window Approach
Applied Sciences
grey wolf optimization
chaotic map
convergence factor
evolutionary population dynamics
dynamic weights
dynamic window approach
title Path Planning of Mobile Robots with an Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer and Dynamic Window Approach
title_full Path Planning of Mobile Robots with an Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer and Dynamic Window Approach
title_fullStr Path Planning of Mobile Robots with an Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer and Dynamic Window Approach
title_full_unstemmed Path Planning of Mobile Robots with an Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer and Dynamic Window Approach
title_short Path Planning of Mobile Robots with an Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer and Dynamic Window Approach
title_sort path planning of mobile robots with an improved grey wolf optimizer and dynamic window approach
topic grey wolf optimization
chaotic map
convergence factor
evolutionary population dynamics
dynamic weights
dynamic window approach
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/7/3999
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AT liweizhang pathplanningofmobilerobotswithanimprovedgreywolfoptimizeranddynamicwindowapproach
AT zhihuilin pathplanningofmobilerobotswithanimprovedgreywolfoptimizeranddynamicwindowapproach
AT jianchen pathplanningofmobilerobotswithanimprovedgreywolfoptimizeranddynamicwindowapproach
AT dongweihe pathplanningofmobilerobotswithanimprovedgreywolfoptimizeranddynamicwindowapproach