Autonomous Path Planning by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for Precise Monitoring of Large-Scale PV plants

Abstract

In this paper, an innovative approach is represented in order to optimize the path planning during UAV flight in the monitoring of PV power plants. For this purpose, two algorithms are developed as static path planning and dynamic path planning. In static path planning, an optimum initial path is generated with image processing techniques. Subsequently, the waypoints are transmitted to UAV through the Radio Frequency (RF) channels for further actions. Dynamic path planning checks UAV’s abilities after any specific maneuver. If UAV cannot complete the initial path, dynamic path planning enters in the loop to create a new optimum path according to UAV’s position and endurance.