Abstract

Abstract: Grids with blocked and unblocked cells are often used to represent terrain in computer games and robotics. However, paths formed by grid edges can be sub-optimal and unrealistic looking, since the possible headings are artificially constrained. We present Theta*, a variant of A*, that propagates information along grid edges without constraining the paths to grid edges. Theta* is simple, fast and finds short and realistic looking paths. We compare Theta* against both Field D*, the only other variant of A* that propagates information along grid edges without constraining the paths to grid edges, and A* with post-smoothed paths. Although neither path planning method is guaranteed to find shortest paths, we show experimentally that Theta* finds shorter and more realistic looking paths than either of these existing techniques. Errata: This version of the paper corrects a mistake in the pseudocode of AP Theta* that could make the resulting paths go through obstacles.

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