A potential panel method is proposed to solve the collision-free path
planning problem for a free-flying robot operating in an obstacle filled 3-D
environment. The problem is solved in three steps: (1) transform the arbitrary
shaped obstacles in the 3-D workspace into simple convex polyhedrons; (2)
generate an artificial potential field using the 3-D panel method in the 3-D
workspace; (3) generate a streamline from the starting position towards the goal
position in the artificial potential field. The computational complexity of the
pertinent algorithms justify the efficiency of the approach and its
applicability in real-time. Simulation results illustrate the potential of the
proposed approach. The reported research is the outgrowth of the 2-D method,
already published.