An Unstructured Terrain Path Planning Algorithm Integrating a Vehicle Dynamic Model and Stability Evaluation Criteria

Path planning for autonomous multimodal wheellegged vehicles in unstructured terrain remains challenging, as conventional algorithms and existing terrain-aware improvements fail to fully integrate critical vehicle-specific dynamics and structural constraints. While recent approaches incorporate terrain slope or traversability cost, they lack a comprehensive assessment linking vehicle power capabilities, structural characteristics, and stability to path feasibility-potentially leading to failures even on traversable slopes due to factors like velocity degradation. To address this gap, this paper proposes a novel path planning algorithm specifically designed for unstructured environments. The algorithm integrates a vehicle dynamic model with stability assessment criteria into the planning process, significantly enhancing path feasibility and driving stability. Furthermore, it introduces a Model Predictive Control (MPC) based speed planning method to generate dynamically constrained and stable velocity for the planned paths. Comparative simulation experiments demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed algorithm over state-of-the-art methods in unstructured terrain, validating its effectiveness in leveraging vehicle capabilities while ensuring safety and stability.