Abstract: The emergence and development of mobile aids to navigation （MAtoN） have a promoting effect on the progress of maritime science and technology. As a type of MAtoN， autonomous buoys have great development prospects. However， due to energy constraints， autonomous buoys must minimize energy consumption as much as possible during navigation to extend their working cycle. Therefore， a path planning algorithm that can be more energy-efficient is needed. This paper proposes a hybrid algorithm of energy-aware A* and artificial potential field （APF）. The global path planning of autonomous buoys is carried out by using the energy-aware A* algorithm. Based on the traditional A* algorithm， the energy perception ability is added， an energy consumption model is established， then a route with lower energy consumption is planned， and a time costiten is introduced to control the navigation time of the autonomous buoy. The APF algorithm is added for local motion planning to locally control the motion path of the autonomous buoy and avoid collisions. This paper verifies the superiority of the energy-aware A* algorithm through simulation. By introducing the APF algorithm， a hybrid planning algorithm is formed， achieving real-time collision avoidance planning for autonomous buoys. Most of the existing A*-APF hybrid algorithms are designed for robots， unmanned surface vehicles， etc.， and are not suitable for the actual path planning of autonomous buoys with strong energy limitations. In contrast， this hybrid algorithm emphasizes energy-aware ability and is more suitable for application in the actual path planning of autonomous buoys. The application of this algorithm in the design of autonomous buoys can promote the development of autonomous buoy applications and has positive significance for enhancing maritime scientific and technological strength.

Key words: WANG Bo1, 2, WANG Lei1*, JIANG Weidong1