Application of optimization algorithms to trajectory planning for underwater gliders

Abstract

Underwater gliders are a technology that have demonstrated to be a valid tool for diverse applications in the oceans including validation of currents models, environmental control or security. Due to their low speed, gliders might drift significantly from the planned trajectory by effect of ocean currents, making path planning a crucial tool for them. In this work, we present a novel path planning scheme for this kind of underwater agents based on optimization techniques that shows promising results on realistic simulations, including highly time-varying ocean currents. This method models the glider as an intelligent agent that senses the ocean currents speed and direction, and generates an path according to the predefined objectives. The proposal reflects accurately the physical vehicle motion pattern and can be easily configured and adapted to various optimization problems regarding underwater vehicles' missions. This method gives a superior performance when is compared with other approaches.