# RobotDiffuse: Diffusion-Based Motion Planning for Redundant Manipulators with the ROP Obstacle Avoidance Dataset

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.19500 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.19500/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Diffusion and flow policies for robotics, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models.
- Builds on 14 of its 19 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Dec 2024.

## Placed in

- Diffusion models / [Diffusion and flow policies for robotics](https://mlsanity.com/diffusion/diffusion-and-flow-policies-for-robotics/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 14 of 14)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.11239/) (2020)
- [Deep Unsupervised Learning using Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1503.03585/) (2015)
- [Hierarchical Text-Conditional Image Generation with CLIP Latents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.06125/) (2022)
- [PointNet: Deep Learning on Point Sets for 3D Classification and Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.00593/) (2016)
- [Dynamic Graph CNN for Learning on Point Clouds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.07829/) (2018)
- [Human Motion Diffusion Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.14916/) (2022)
- [Robust Motion In-betweening](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.04942/) (2021)
- [Motion Planning Diffusion: Learning and Planning of Robot Motions with Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.01557/) (2023)
- [Learning to Fly -- a Gym Environment with PyBullet Physics for Reinforcement Learning of Multi-agent Quadcopter Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.02142/) (2021)
- [Motion Planning Networks: Bridging the Gap Between Learning-based and Classical Motion Planners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.06013/) (2019)
- [Motion Policy Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.12209/) (2022)
- [Continuous-Time Gaussian Process Motion Planning via Probabilistic Inference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.07383/) (2017)
- [EDMP: Ensemble-of-costs-guided Diffusion for Motion Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.11414/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Redundant manipulators, with their higher Degrees of Freedom (DoFs), offer enhanced kinematic performance and versatility, making them suitable for applications like manufacturing, surgical robotics, and human-robot collaboration. However, motion planning for these manipulators is challenging due to increased DoFs and complex, dynamic environments. While traditional motion planning algorithms struggle with high-dimensional spaces, deep learning-based methods often face instability and inefficiency in complex tasks. This paper introduces RobotDiffuse, a diffusion model-based approach for motion planning in redundant manipulators. By integrating physical constraints with a point cloud encoder and replacing the U-Net structure with an encoder-only transformer, RobotDiffuse improves the model's ability to capture temporal dependencies and generate smoother, more coherent motion plans. We validate the approach using a complex simulator and release a new dataset, Robot-obtalcles-panda (ROP), with 35M robot poses and 0.14M obstacle avoidance scenarios. The highest overall score obtained in the experiment demonstrates the effectiveness of RobotDiffuse and the promise of diffusion models for motion planning tasks. The dataset can be accessed at https://github.com/ACRoboT-buaa/RobotDiffuse.