An Optimized Fuzzy Control Algorithm for Three-Dimensional AUV Path Planning

Path planning is an important issue for autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) underwater mission. In this paper, an optimized fuzzy control algorithm is proposed for three-dimensional (3D) AUV path planning. Based on the sonar model, it can be used for path planning in the complex underwater environment. First, the path planning is established based on the two sonars arranged on the horizontal plane and vertical plane. On the environment information collected by sonars, the virtual acceleration and velocity of AUV in the three-dimensional space can be obtained through the fuzzy system with accelerate/break module which enables AUV to avoid dynamic obstacles automatically. Considering the fuzzy boundary choice has great subjectivity, the generated path cannot guarantee to be optimal. Therefore, in order to deal with this problem, two optimized methods are compared to do the optimization of the fuzzy set. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method can generate an optimal 3D path under three-dimensional underwater environment and can be used in real case in the future.