This paper represents part of the ongoing research into an Intelligent Mobile Autonomous System (IMAS). An intermediate path planning subsystem (Navigator), for the hierarchy of IMAS, is presented which operates in completely known, partially known, and completely unknown environments. Information is passed from a sensor to the Navigator via the "Cartographer" which performs map updating. The interaction and performance of these subsystems are demonstrated in a simulation of the IMAS hierarchy.

This study describes the theoretical and practical aspects of the design and computer simulation of a heuristic based navigation algorithm. An algorithm is developed which provides a convenient testing system for generalized navigation strategies on a fixed map which may be known or unknown to a system. A variety of maps are simulated and the navigation results are compared.