Geometric Primitives-Based AUV Path Planning In Cluttered Waterspaces

This paper describes a procedure that utilizes a series of off-line algorithms for pre-planning a two-dimensional path for an AUV in a cluttered waterspace. The trajectory is planned as a clothoidal spline or interpolation based on the work of Shin and Singh (1990) between a sequence of objective points. The former are calculated by a method proposed by the authors, based on the traversal of vertices of apriori known obstacles modeled on a concise set of geometrical primitives. The objective points are first sequenced and then extraneous ones are pruned. Finally, the technique of Shin and Singh (1990) and numerical approximation of clothoid parameters is applied to calculating the final path through the obstacle-strewn waterspace.