A New Potential Field Inspired Path Planning Algorithm for Ships

Abstract

The paper introduces a new path planning method for ships. It is applied to calculate a safe trajectory for a ship in a collision situation at sea. The algorithm takes into account both static (lands, shallows) and dynamic obstacles (encountered ships) and returns a solution in near-real time. The algorithm is inspired by the Artificial Potential Field method and uses a general concept of this approach. The paper presents the description of a new method and results of simulation studies concerning simple and more complex navigational situations. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed method for ships path planning.