13. Hybrid A* Pseudocode

Hybrid A* Pseudocode:

The pseudocode below outlines an implementation of the A* search algorithm using the bicycle model. The following variables and objects are used in the code but not defined there:

  • State(x, y, theta, g, f) : An object which stores x , y coordinates, direction theta , and current g and f values.
  • grid : A 2D array of 0s and 1s indicating the area to be searched. 1s correspond to obstacles, and 0s correspond to free space.
  • SPEED : The speed of the vehicle used in the bicycle model.
  • LENGTH : The length of the vehicle used in the bicycle model.
  • NUM_THETA_CELLS : The number of cells a circle is divided into. This is used in keeping track of which States we have visited already.

The bulk of the hybrid A* algorithm is contained within the search function. The expand function takes a state and goal as inputs and returns a list of possible next states for a range of steering angles. This function contains the implementation of the bicycle model and the call to the A* heuristic function.

def expand(state, goal):
    next_states = []
    for delta in range(-35, 40, 5): 
        # Create a trajectory with delta as the steering angle using 
        # the bicycle model:

        # ---Begin bicycle model---
        delta_rad = deg_to_rad(delta)
        omega = SPEED/LENGTH * tan(delta_rad)
        next_x = state.x + SPEED * cos(theta)
        next_y = state.y + SPEED * sin(theta)
        next_theta = normalize(state.theta + omega)
        # ---End bicycle model-----

        next_g = state.g + 1
        next_f = next_g + heuristic(next_x, next_y, goal)

        # Create a new State object with all of the "next" values.
        state = State(next_x, next_y, next_theta, next_g, next_f)
        next_states.append(state)

    return next_states

def search(grid, start, goal):
    # The opened array keeps track of the stack of States objects we are 
    # searching through.
    opened = []
    # 3D array of zeros with dimensions:
    # (NUM_THETA_CELLS, grid x size, grid y size).
    closed = [[[0 for x in range(grid[0])] for y in range(len(grid))] 
        for cell in range(NUM_THETA_CELLS)]
    # 3D array with same dimensions. Will be filled with State() objects 
    # to keep track of the path through the grid. 
    came_from = [[[0 for x in range(grid[0])] for y in range(len(grid))] 
        for cell in range(NUM_THETA_CELLS)]

    # Create new state object to start the search with.
    x = start.x
    y = start.y
    theta = start.theta
    g = 0
    f = heuristic(start.x, start.y, goal)
    state = State(x, y, theta, 0, f)
    opened.append(state)

    # The range from 0 to 2pi has been discretized into NUM_THETA_CELLS cells. 
    # Here, theta_to_stack_number returns the cell that theta belongs to. 
    # Smaller thetas (close to 0 when normalized  into the range from 0 to 
    # 2pi) have lower stack numbers, and larger thetas (close to 2pi when 
    # normalized) have larger stack numbers.
    stack_num = theta_to_stack_number(state.theta)
    closed[stack_num][index(state.x)][index(state.y)] = 1

    # Store our starting state. For other states, we will store the previous 
    # state in the path, but the starting state has no previous.
    came_from[stack_num][index(state.x)][index(state.y)] = state

    # While there are still states to explore:
    while opened:
        # Sort the states by f-value and start search using the state with the 
        # lowest f-value. This is crucial to the A* algorithm; the f-value 
        # improves search efficiency by indicating where to look first.
        opened.sort(key=lambda state:state.f)
        current = opened.pop(0)

        # Check if the x and y coordinates are in the same grid cell 
        # as the goal. (Note: The idx function returns the grid index for 
        # a given coordinate.)
        if (idx(current.x) == goal[0]) and (idx(current.y) == goal.y):
            # If so, the trajectory has reached the goal.
            return path

        # Otherwise, expand the current state to get a list of possible 
        # next states.
        next_states = expand(current, goal)
        for next_s in next_states:
            # If we have expanded outside the grid, skip this next_s.
            if next_s is not in the grid:
                continue
            # Otherwise, check that we haven't already visited this cell and
            # that there is not an obstacle in the grid there.
            stack_num = theta_to_stack_number(next_s.theta)
            if closed[stack_num][idx(next_s.x)][idx(next_s.y)] == 0 
                and grid[idx(next_s.x)][idx(next_s.y)] == 0:
                # The state can be added to the opened stack.
                opened.append(next_s)
                # The stack_number, idx(next_s.x), idx(next_s.y) tuple 
                # has now been visited, so it can be closed.
                closed[stack_num][idx(next_s.x)][idx(next_s.y)] = 1
                # The next_s came from the current state, and is recorded.
                came_from[stack_num][idx(next_s.x)][idx(next_s.y)] = current