A path planning algorithm for an AUV guided with homotopy classes

The paper proposes a method that uses topological information to guide path planning in any 2D workspace. Our method builds a topological environment based on the workspace to compute homotopy classes, which topologically describe how paths go through the obstacles in the workspace. Then, the homotopy classes are sorted according to an heuristic estimation of their lower bound. Only those with smaller lower bound are used to guide a planner based on the Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT), called Homotopic RRT (HRRT), to compute the path in the workspace. Simulated and real results with an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) are presented showing the feasibility of the proposal. Comparison with well-known path planning algorithms has also been included.