A novel approach for 3PDP and real-time via point path planning of Dubins' vehicles in marine applications.

This paper addresses the problem of finding the shortest Dubins path between three consecutive via-points with prescribed initial and final orientations and without a prescribed orientation at the intermediate via-point. The problem plays a crucial role for online path planning in many marine applications, as for example, it is instrumental to solve the Dubins Traveling Salesman Problem. A novel solution is proposed using simple tools borrowed from analytic geometry, and an efficient algorithm is presented as a basic routine for real-time path planning algorithms. Extensive simulations confirmed the efficiency of the proposed strategy in terms of both computational complexity and accuracy of the solution. Moreover, a comparative analysis with recent existing approaches is performed showing the effectiveness of the proposed solution. • A novel method based on analytic geometry is adopted to solve the 3PDP Dubins problem. • The resulting algorithm provides fast and accurate solutions. • It is well fit for real time applications. • The solution gives insightful views to solve the Dubins Traveling Salesman Problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]