Non-uniqueness of the homotopy class of bounded curvature paths

Abstract: A bounded curvature path is a continuously differentiable piecewise $C^2$ path with a bounded absolute curvature that connects two points in the tangent bundle of a surface. In this work, we analyze the homotopy classes of bounded curvature paths for points in the tangent bundle of the Euclidean plane. We show the existence of connected components of bounded curvature paths that do not correspond to those under (regular) homotopies obtaining the first results in the theory outside optimality. An application to robotics is presented.