alsStops

alsStops is a concept in motion planning and robotics referring to a set of predefined stopping states within a trajectory produced by an adaptive stopping strategy (ALS). A stop is a controlled halt of movement used to reassess the environment, comply with safety constraints, or synchronize with sensor updates. The alsStops set is typically optimized to balance travel efficiency with robustness to uncertainty.

Origin and terminology: The term combines “als” from the adaptive stopping framework with “Stops,” indicating discrete transition points. It has appeared in academic literature and project documentation describing energy-aware and fault-tolerant planning approaches that partition a path into segments separated by stops.

Characteristics and computation: Stops are represented as nodes in a plan graph or as time-stamped states in a trajectory. The ALS algorithm evaluates criteria such as obstacle proximity, velocity and acceleration limits, weather or surface conditions, and energy budgets. Stops can be fixed along a route or inserted online in response to new sensor information. Some implementations assign probabilistic or worst-case guarantees to ensure safety margins.

Applications and limitations: alsStops are used in autonomous vehicles, aerial drones, robotic manipulators, and service robots operating in uncertain or dynamic environments. Limitations include added travel time due to halts, potential over-conservatism, and sensitivity to sensor latency. In some cases continuous optimization methods like model predictive control or receding-horizon planning are preferred to minimize or eliminate stops.

See also: motion planning, energy-aware planning, stop-and-go control, model predictive control. References to the ALS framework documentation and related research provide concrete implementations and experimental results.