A hybrid path planning strategy unified with COLREGS for the unmanned surface vehicle
Lili Wan, Jing Li, Mi Zhou · Ships and Offshore Structures · 2025
The applications of the Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) are widely distributed in various fields. This paper proposes a new path planning method that combines A* algorithm with an adaptive Dynamic Window Algorithm (DWA), which can simultaneously achieve static and dynamic obstacle avoidance. For ADWA, the adaptive factor is introduced in adjust the prediction time of DWA, and the time evaluation factor is introduced in the DWA evaluation function to evaluate the prediction time. The global path planning of the USV is realised by A* algorithm and smooth processed by spline interpolation method based on B-spline, then the local path planning of the USV is realised by the adaptive DWA. Furthermore, the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) is integrated and a hybrid path planning strategy is emerged to guarantee the collision avoidance safety in multi-ships encounter. Simulation experiments show that the proposed hybrid path planning strategy can realise flexible obstacle avoidance by adjusting the prediction time, and the USV can follow COLREGS for safe avoidance when encountering other vehicles.