In robotics, obstacle avoidance is the task of satisfying some control objective subject to non-intersection or non-collision position constraints. Normally obstacle avoidance is considered to be distinct from path planning

Motion planning

Motion planning is a term used in robotics for the process of detailing a task into discrete motions....

 in that one is usually implemented as a reactive control law while the other involves the pre-computation of an obstacle-free path which a controller will then guide a robot along.

Further reading

• BECKER, M. ; DANTAS, Carolina Meirelles ; MACEDO, Weber Perdigão, "Obstacle Avoidance Procedure for Mobile Robots". In: Paulo Eigi Miyagi; Oswaldo Horikawa; Emilia Villani. (Org.). ABCM Symposium Series in Mechatronics, Volume 2. 1 ed. São Paulo - SP: ABCM, 2006, v. 2, p. 250-257. ISBN 978-85-85769-26-0