2024/04/02 by Yufei Duan, Florian Achermann, Duan, Yufei +5 · 1 citation
Computer Science · Engineering · #Air Traffic Management and Optimization #Autonomous Vehicle Technology and Safety #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Robotic Path Planning Algorithms #Robotics (cs.RO)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2404.02077
openalex publication_date 2024/04/02 · openalex created_date 2024/04/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Fixed-wing small uncrewed aerial vehicles (sUAVs) possess the capability to remain airborne for extended durations and traverse vast distances. However, their operation is susceptible to wind conditions, particularly in regions of complex terrain where high wind speeds may push the aircraft beyond its operational limitations, potentially raising safety concerns. Moreover, wind impacts the energy required to follow a path, especially in locations where the wind direction and speed are not favorable. Incorporating wind information into mission planning is essential to ensure both safety and energy efficiency. In this paper, we propose a sampling-based planner using the kinematic Dubins aircraft paths with respect to the ground, to plan energy-efficient paths in non-uniform wind fields. We study the planner characteristics with synthetic and real-world wind data and compare its performance against baseline cost and path formulations. We demonstrate that the energy-optimized planner effectively utilizes updrafts to minimize energy consumption, albeit at the expense of increased travel time. The ground-relative path formulation facilitates the generation of safe trajectories onboard sUAVs within reasonable computational timeframes.