Optimal solution of the Generalized Dubins Interval Problem: finding the shortest curvature-constrained path through a set of regions

The Generalized Dubins Interval Problem (GDIP) stands to determine the minimal length path connecting two disk-shaped regions where the departure and terminal headings of Dubins vehicle are within the specified angle intervals. The GDIP is a generalization of the existing point-to-point planning problem for Dubins vehicle with a single heading angle per particular location that can be solved optimally using closed-form expression. For the GDIP, both the heading angles and locations need to be chosen from continuous sets which makes the problem challenging because of infinite possibilities how to connect the regions by Dubins path. We provide the optimal solution of the introduced GDIP based on detailed problem analysis. Moreover, we propose to employ the GDIP to provide the first tight lower bound for the Dubins Touring Regions Problem which stands to find the shortest curvature-constrained path through a set of regions in the prescribed order.