About

This GPU-accelerated 4D path planning framework is developed by Zezhong Li during his research at Tianjin University AINS Lab, China. His research primarily focuses on complex trajectory optimization and motion planning problems for Autonomous Underwater Gliders (AUGs) operating in dynamic, time-varying ocean environments.

The research is motivated by the growing demand for long-endurance, large-scale oceanographic observation missions. In such practical deployments, underwater vehicles must safely and efficiently navigate through highly multimodal route corridors induced by complex seabed topography (e.g., GEBCO bathymetry) and continuously varying ocean currents (e.g., CMEMS data).

Zezhong Li is affiliated with the School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin University and the Laoshan Laboratory in Qingdao, China, working under the supervision of Prof. Zhongke Gao.

This work is jointly supported by the National Key R&D Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.