3D Global Dynamic Window Approach for Navigation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

An autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle is a type of marine self-propelled robot that executes some specific mission and returns to base on completion of the task. In order to successfully execute the requested operations, the vehicle must be guided by an effective navigation algorithm that enables it to avoid obstacles and follow the best path. Architectures and principles for intelligent dynamic systems are being developed, not only in the underwater arena but also in related areas where the work does not fully justify the name. The problem of increasing the capacity of systems management is highly relevant based on the development of new methods for dynamic analysis, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, and adaptation. Among the large variety of navigation methods that presently exist, the dynamic window approach is worth noting. It was originally presented by Fox et al. and has been implemented in indoor office robots. In this paper, the dynamic window approach is applied to the marine world by developing and extending it to manipulate vehicles in 3D marine environments. This algorithm is provided to enable efficient avoidance of obstacles and attainment of targets. Experiments conducted using the algorithm in MATLAB indicate that it is an effective obstacle avoidance approach for marine vehicles.