Coverage Path Planning for Complex Structures Inspection Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

Abstract

The most critical process in the inspection is the structure coverage which is a time and resource intensive task. In this paper, Search Space Coverage Path Planning (SSCPP) algorithm for inspecting complex structure using a vehicular system consisting of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is proposed. The proposed algorithm exploits our knowledge of the structure model, and the UAV’s onboard sensors to generate coverage paths that maximizes coverage and accuracy. The algorithm supports the integration of multiple sensors to increase the coverage at each viewpoint and reduce the mission time. A weighted heuristic reward function is developed in the algorithm to target coverage, accuracy, travelled distance and turning angle at each viewpoint. The iterative processes of the proposed algorithm were accelerated exploiting the parallel architecture of the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). A set of experiments using models of different shapes were conducted in simulated and real environments. The simulation and experimental results show the validity and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.