Potential function

The term potential function may refer to:

 A mathematical function, whose values are given by a scalar potential or vector potential
 The electric potential, in the context of electrodynamics, is formally described by both a
scalar electrostatic potential and a magnetic vector potential
 The class of functions known as harmonic functions, which are the topic of study in potential
theory
 The potential function of a potential game
 In the potential method of amortized analysis, a function describing an investment of
resources by past operations that can be used by future operations

The Repulsive Potential

The repulsive potential is a manifestation of the overlap of the wave functions of the
two species in conjunction with the Pauli exclusion principle 1. It reflects the impossibility for
electrons with the same spin to occupy the same space 1. Repulsion occurs as each particle
attempts to retain the space in their respective orbitals 2. The Lennard-Jones potential models the
two most important and fundamental molecular interactions: The repulsive term describes the
Pauli repulsion at short distances of the interacting particles due to overlapping electron orbitals 3.

Gradient Descent

Gradient Descent is an optimizing algorithm used in Machine/ Deep Learning algorithms. The

goal of Gradient Descent is to minimize the objective convex function f(x) using iteration.
Convex function v/s Not Convex function

Gradient Descent on Cost function.

Intuition behind Gradient Descent

For ease, let’s take a simple linear model.

Error = Y(Predicted)-Y(Actual)
 A machine learning model always wants low error with maximum accuracy, in order to decrease

error we will intuit our algorithm that you’re doing something wrong that is needed to be rectified,

that would be done through Gradient Descent.

We need to minimize our error, in order to get pointer to minima we need to walk some steps that

are known as alpha(learning rate).

Steps to implement Gradient Descent

1. Randomly initialize values.

2. Update values.

3. Repeat until slope =0

Computing distance in a Plane

Consider a point (P = (x_1, y_1, z_1)) and a plane determined by its normal vector (\mathbf{N}
= (A, B, C)) and a point (Q = (x_0, y_0, z_0)). The equation for the plane is given by:
[ Ax + By + Cz + D = 0 ]
where (D = -Ax_0 - By_0 - Cz_0).
To find the distance from point (P) to the plane, follow these steps:
1. Calculate the unit normal vector (\mathbf{n}) by dividing (\mathbf{N}) by its length: [ \
mathbf{n} = \frac{\mathbf{N}}{|\mathbf{N}|} = \left(\frac{A}{\sqrt{A^2 + B^2 + C^2}}, \
frac{B}{\sqrt{A^2 + B^2 + C^2}}, \frac{C}{\sqrt{A^2 + B^2 + C^2}}\right) ]
2. Compute the vector (\mathbf{v}) from (Q) to (P): [ \mathbf{v} = (x_1 - x_0, y_1 - y_0, z_1 -
z_0) ]
3. The distance (d) from (P) to the plane is the absolute value of the dot product of (\mathbf{v})
and (\mathbf{n}): [ d = |\mathbf{v} \cdot \mathbf{n}| ]
This distance represents the shortest perpendicular distance from point (P) to the plane. If you
have specific values for (A), (B), (C), (x_0), (y_0), (z_0), (x_1), (y_1), and (z_1), you can plug
them into the formula to find the exact distance

Local Minima Problem

The local minimum is the input value for which the function gives the minimum output values.
The function equation or the graph of the function is not sometimes sufficient to find the local
minimum. The derivative of the function is very helpful in finding the local minimum of the
function. The below graph shows the local minimum within the defined interval of the domain.
Further, the function has another minimum value across the entire range, which is called the
global minimum.
Let us consider a function f(x). The input value of x1𝑥1 for which f(x1)(𝑥1) < 0, is called the
local minimum, and f(x1)𝑓(𝑥1) is the local minimum value . The local minimum is calculated for
only the defined interval and does not apply to the entire range of the function.
Methods to Find Local Minimum

The local minimum can be identified by taking the derivative of the given function. The first
derivative test and the second derivative test are useful to find the local minimum. Let us
understand more details, of each of these tests.
First Derivative Test

The first derivative test helps in finding the turning points, where the function output has a
minimum value. For the first derivative test. we define a function f(x) on an open interval I. Let
the function f(x) be continuous at a critical point c in the interval I. Here if f ′(x) changes sign
from negative to positive as x increases through c, i.e., if f ′(x) < 0 at every point sufficiently
close to and to the left of c, and f ′(x) > 0 at every point sufficiently close to and to the right of c,
then c is a point of local minimum.

The following steps are helpful to complete the first derivative test and to find the local
minimum.

 Find the first derivative of the given function, and find the limiting points by equalizing the
first derivative expression to zero.
 Find one point each in the neighboring left side and the neighboring right side of the limiting
point, and substitute these neighboring points in the first derivative functions.
 If the derivative of the function is negative for the neighboring point to the left, and it is
positive for the neighboring point to the right, then the limiting point is the local minimum.
Second Derivative Test

The second derivative test is a systematic method of finding the local minimum of a real-valued
function defined on a closed or bounded interval. Here we consider a function f(x) which is
differentiable twice and defined on a closed interval I, and a point x= k which belongs to this
closed interval (I). Here x = k, is a point of local minimum, if f'(k) = 0, and f''(k) > 0. The point
at x= k is the local minimum, and f(k) is called the local minimum value of the function f(x).

The following sequence of steps facilitates the second derivative test, to find the local minimum
of the real-valued function.

 Find the first derivative f'(x) of the function f(x) and equalize the first derivative to zero f'(x)
= 0, to get the limiting points x1,x2𝑥1,𝑥2.
 Find the second derivative of the function f''(x), and substitute the limiting points in the
second derivativef′′(x1),f′′(x2)𝑓″(𝑥1),𝑓″(𝑥2)..
 If the second derivative is greater than zerof′′(x1)>0𝑓″(𝑥1)>0, then the limiting point (x1)
(𝑥1) is the local minimum.
  If the second derivative is lesser than zero f′′(x2)<0𝑓″(𝑥2)<0, then the limiting point (x2)
(𝑥2) is the local maximum.
Uses of Local Minimum

The concept of local minimum has numerous uses in business, economics, engineering. Let us
find some of the important uses of the local minimum.

 The price of a stock, if represented in the form of a functional equation and a graph, is
helpful to find the points where the price of the stock falls, or is minimum.
 The drop in voltage in an electrical appliance, at which it may the functioning of the
equipment, can be identified from the local minimum.
 In the food processing units, the minimum humidity to be maintained to keep the food fresh,
can be found from the local minimum of the graph of the humidity function.
 The number of seeds to be sown in a field to get the maximum yield can be found with the
help of the concept of the local minimum.
 For a parabolic equation, the local minimum helps in knowing the point at which the vertex
of the parabola lies.
 The minimum temperature to be maintained in the fridge can be found from the local
minimum of the temperature function.

Wave Front Planner

A wavefront planner is a specialized potential field path planner that helps robots navigate
through environments. Here’s how it works:
1. Discretization: Before path planning, the map is divided into a grid. The vector information is
converted into a 2D array stored in memory.
2. Wavefront Expansion: The wavefront expansion algorithm uses a growing circle around the
robot. It analyzes nearest neighbors first and then extends the circle to distant regions. This
approach helps avoid local minima.
3. Breadth-First Search (BFS): The algorithm operates at a geometrical level similar to BFS. It
considers metrics like distances from obstacles and gradient search for path planning1.
4. Cost Function: The algorithm includes a cost function as an additional heuristic for path
planning.
5. Implementation: Practical open-source implementations are available. For instance, a Python
implementation can be realized in around 200 lines of code
 Sphere – Star Space

1. Sphere: A three-dimensional geometric shape that is perfectly round, with all points on its
surface equidistant from its center. Think of a ball or a planet.
2. Space: In various contexts, “space” can refer to:
o Outer Space: The vast expanse beyond Earth’s atmosphere, where stars, planets, and other
celestial objects exist.
o Physical Space: The area around us, where objects and events occur.
o Mathematical Space: An abstract concept used in geometry, such as Euclidean space or vector
space.
3. Star: A luminous celestial object composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, undergoing nuclear
fusion to produce energy. Stars emit light and heat.

potential functions for rigid body robots. 🤖

1. Basic Idea:
o A potential function (also known as a potential field) is a technique used in robotic motion
planning.
o It defines forces in the workspace (usually ℝ² or ℝ³) to guide a robot toward its goal while
avoiding obstacles.
2. Attractive and Repulsive Forces:
o Attractive Force: Points the robot toward the goal.
o Repulsive Force: Pushes the robot away from obstacles.
3. Points on the Robot:
o Select several points on the robot (e.g., vertices).
o Compute attractive and repulsive potentials for each point.
o Transform these potentials into the robot’s configuration space.
4. Mathematical Formulation:
o Let (q) represent the robot’s configuration (joint angles or coordinates).
o Compute the total potential energy (U(q)) based on attractive and repulsive forces.
o The robot’s motion is influenced by the gradient of this potential energy.
5. Example: Two-Link Manipulator:
o Consider a two-link robot with joint angles (\alpha) and (\beta).
o Compute forces in the workspace and map them to the configuration space.
o Use the resulting force to move the robot.

Path planning for articulated body robots involves finding optimal trajectories for robots with
multiple interconnected segments (such as robotic arms or snake-like structures). Here are some
key points:
1. Highly Articulated Robots:
o These robots have many degrees of freedom (DoFs) due to their multiple joints and links.
o Path planning considers both geometric constraints (obstacles, workspace boundaries) and
physical constraints (joint limits, collision avoidance).
2. Approaches:
o Constrained Dynamic Simulation: Formulates path planning as a constrained dynamics
problem.
o Adaptive Forward Dynamics: Efficiently simulates robot motion using sub-linear time
algorithms 12.
o Safety-Oriented Planning: Focuses on improving path quality in terms of safety by assessing
danger fields 3.
3. Applicability:
o These techniques apply to various robots, including manipulators, legged robots, and even
autonomous boats.

visibility graph

Definition:

o A visibility graph is an undirected graph that represents intervisible locations in

the Euclidean plane.
o It typically involves a set of points (nodes) and obstacles.
 oEach edge in the graph connects two points if the line segment between them does
not intersect any obstacle.
4. Applications:
o Path Planning: Visibility graphs help find Euclidean shortest paths among
polygonal obstacles. The shortest path connects start and destination points,
avoiding obstacles’ vertices.
o Robot Motion Planning: For robots with non-negligible size, expand obstacles to
account for the robot’s dimensions. Then construct a visibility graph and apply a
shortest path algorithm.
o Architecture and Urban Planning: Visibility graph analysis assesses inter-
visibility connections within buildings or urban networks.
5. Characterization:
o The visibility graph of a simple polygon has its vertices as point locations and the
polygon’s exterior as the only obstacle.
o These graphs must be Hamiltonian (forming a cycle).
o Efficient algorithms for characterizing visibility graphs of simple polygons
remain an open research question.

VORONOi Diagram
 Definition: A Voronoi diagram is a partition of a plane into regions, each associated with a given
set of points (called seeds or generators). For each seed, there’s a corresponding region called
a Voronoi cell, consisting of all points in the plane closer to that seed than to any other. These
cells are convex polygons, and their boundaries are formed by equidistant points between
neighboring seeds.
 Applications: Voronoi diagrams have practical and theoretical applications across various fields:
o Science and Technology: They’re used in areas like geophysics, biology, and computer science.
o Art: Artists and designers often explore Voronoi patterns for their aesthetic appeal.
o Architecture: Voronoi structures inspire innovative architectural designs.
o Nature: Interestingly, Voronoi patterns can be found in natural phenomena, such as cell
membranes and giraffe coat pattern


Voronoi Graph:

 The Voronoi graph is closely related to the Voronoi diagram.

 It is a graph whose edges represent the boundaries between Voronoi cells.
 Each edge lies equidistant from the obstacles around it, maximizing clearance.

When navigating from a start point to a goal point, we find the nearest points on the Voronoi
graph to determine the path