Path planning of AUV based on improved A* algorithm with optimal energy consumption*

In the traditional path planning of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), the algorithm’s time and the planned path’s length are more considered. Energy consumption, which greatly affects AUVs’ endurance, is rarely considered. Therefore, a path-planning algorithm based on energy consumption is proposed in this study. Firstly, the energy consumption function of the AUV during navigation is established. Then, based on the energy consumption function, the cost function of the A* algorithm is adaptively improved. Therefore, an improved A* algorithm with optimal energy consumption is proposed. After that, the algorithm, A* algorithm, ant colony algorithm and improved ant colony algorithm were simulated under raster map. Simulation results show that compared with the other three algorithms, the energy consumption of AUV sailing on the path planned by the algorithm is reduced by 6.0%∼22.9%.