A hybrid PSO-WG algorithm for AUV path planning in unknown oceanic environment

A new path planning algorithm is presented for autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in undiscovered ocean environments based on combining particle swarm optimization (PSO) with waypoint guidance (WG). In this algorithm, multi-beams forward looking sonar (FLS) is utilized to discover obstacles, and PSO algorithm is adopted to generate appropriate waypoints, an optimal path with low power consumption and free of collision is generated by following these waypoints. Finally, the simulation experiment is conducted in MATLAB 2015, the simulation results show that this algorithm can generate optimal paths with shorter path length and better smoothness.