UAV Path Planning Based on Dynamic Programming Algorithm On Photogrammetric DEMs

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to propose a three-dimensional path planning algorithm based on dynamic programming to plan optimal trajectories for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) map. An RGB camera is employed to obtain point cloud data of the map using WebODEM. The point cloud data are processed in to a digital elevation map using GRASS-GIS. Then, dynamic programming approach is used to find an optimal path from a starting location to a target location. The effectiveness and practicality of this paper work are demonstrated by the simulation test results.