Inspection Trajectory Planning for 3D Structures under a Mixed-Integer Framework

Abstract

This paper extends our previous work on constrained trajectory generation for UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) with the task of fully covering an a priori known 3D structure. The novelty resides in the geometrical approach we adopt to describe sufficient coverage constraints in a mixed-integer formulation. The combined use of hyperplane arrangement, cell merging procedures and mixed-integer formulations provides feasible “viewpoint” regions through which the trajectory has to pass. The selected viewpoints with their corresponding feasible cells allow the vehicle to fully cover the 3D structure. The tools used and the results obtained are exemplified over a particular quadcopter system.