Simplicial Complexity: piecewise linear motion planning in robotics

Abstract: Using the notion of contiguity of simplicial maps, we adapt Farber's topological complexity to the realm of simplicial complexes. We show that, for a finite simplicial complex $K$, our discretized concept recovers the topological complexity of the realization $|K|$. Our approach is well suited for designing and implementing algorithms that search for optimal motion planners for autonomous systems in real-life applications.