INCORPORATING ASPECT ANGLE INTO ROUTE PLANNERS

A route planning algorithm for a vehicle takes into account the aspect angle which the vehicle presents to threats in the environment. A flag is set in each map grid cell for which intervisibility with a threat exists. For each cell in which the flag is set, an aspect angle pointer points to a mathematical function which represents the cost value function attributable to the type of vehicle, the type of threat, and the aspect angle of the path segment. A determination is made as to whether an auxiliary function representing the probability of the threat is associated with the cell under consideration, and if so the auxiliary function is evaluated. If the result of the auxiliary function is nonzero, the aspect angle function is evaluated, and added to the map cost function to form a total cost. If not, the route planning algorithm continues without taking aspect angle into account. If so, the route planner uses the total cost.