# Hierarchically Accelerated Coverage Path Planning for Redundant Manipulators

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.19591 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.19591/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 26 Feb 2025.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Coverage Path Planning: Classical Foundations, Recent Advances, and Future Directions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.10649/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Many robotic applications, such as sanding, polishing, wiping and sensor scanning, require a manipulator to dexterously cover a surface using its end-effector. In this paper, we provide an efficient and effective coverage path planning approach that leverages a manipulator's redundancy and task tolerances to minimize costs in joint space. We formulate the problem as a Generalized Traveling Salesman Problem and hierarchically streamline the graph size. Our strategy is to identify guide paths that roughly cover the surface and accelerate the computation by solving a sequence of smaller problems. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method through a simulation experiment and an illustrative demonstration using a physical robot.