Water wave optimization algorithm for autonomous underwater vehicle path planning problem

In this paper, a water wave optimization (WWO) algorithm is proposed to solve the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) path planning problem to obtain an optimal or near-optimal path in the marine environment. Path planning is a prerequisite for the realization of submarine reconnaissance, surveillance, combat and other underwater tasks. The WWO algorithm based on shallow wave theory is a novel evolutionary algorithm that mimics wave motions containing propagation, refraction and breaking to obtain the global optimization solution. The WWO algorithm not only avoids jumps out of the local optimum and premature convergence but also has a faster convergence speed and higher calculation accuracy. To verify the effectiveness and feasibility, the WWO algorithm is applied to solve the randomly generated threat areas and generated fixed threat areas. Compared with other algorithms, the WWO algorithm can effectively balance exploration and exploitation to avoid threat areas and reach the intended target with minimum fuel costs. The experimental results demonstrate that the WWO algorithm has better optimization performance and is robust.