A Topology Based Path Planning Algorithm for Inland Waterway Network: Case Study of Jiangsu Canal Network

Complex navigational conditions make it difficult for ship navigators to always generate safe and efficient paths in variable ship traffic flow, especially considering navigational constraints such as waterway grade, traffic congestion and lock nodes. This paper proposes a channel-based topology structure and establish a navigable waterway model in consideration of navigational constraints and lock nodes in inland waterway network. Moreover, an improved A-star algorithm based on channel topology is studied to achieve the shortest time path planning for the dynamic waterway network. Results from five case studies show that the proposed method outperforms both Dijkstra algorithm and traditional A-star algorithm in terms of computational efficiency and path generation.