Process / pipelinePath Planning

Dubins Path

The Dubins path is the shortest curve connecting two points in the plane with prescribed initial and terminal tangent directions, subject to a constraint on curvature. Introduced by Lester Dubins in 1957, it solved a fundamental problem in differential geometry and became essential in motion planning for aircraft, helicopters, and autonomous vehicles. A Dubins path consists of circular arcs and straight line segments arranged in a sequence such as RSR (Right-Straight-Right) or LSL (Left-Straight-Left).

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Sources

  1. Dubins, L. E. (1957). On curves of minimal length with a constraint on average curvature and with prescribed initial and terminal positions and tangents. American Journal of Mathematics, 79(3), 497–516. DOI: 10.2307/2372560
  2. Shkel, A. M., & Lumelsky, V. (2001). Classification of the Dubins set. Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 34(2-3), 179–202. DOI: 10.1016/S0921-8890(00)00127-9
  3. Hota, S., & Ghose, D. (2016). Optimal path planning for aerial vehicles using Dubins curves. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 52(3), 1400–1416. DOI: 10.1109/TAES.2016.150474

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Referenced by

ScholarGateDubins Path (Dubins Shortest Path Problem). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/aerospace/dubins-path