Using Motion Planning to Determine the Existence of an Accessible Route in a CAD Environment

ABSTRACT

We describe an algorithm based on motion-planning techniques to determine the existence of an accessible route through a facility for a wheeled mobility device. The algorithm is based on LaValle's work on rapidly exploring random trees and is enhanced to take into consideration the particularities of the accessible route domain. Specifically, the algorithm is designed to allow performance-based analysis and evaluation of a facility. Furthermore, the parameters of a wheeled mobility device can be varied without recompilation, thus allowing standards writers, facility designers, and wheeled mobility device manufacturers to vary them accordingly. The algorithm has been implemented in a computer tool that works within a computer-aided design and drafting environment.

KEYWORDS:

• accessibility
• computer-aided design and drafting
• motion planning
• performance-based methods
• simulation
• wheeled mobility device

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant EIA-9983368 and by the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering at Stanford University. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring agencies. The authors would like to thank Lois Thibault of the U.S. Access Board for her encouragement and support and Joe Cavanaugh for his participation in this research.