Recursive Rewarding Modified Adaptive Cell Decomposition (RR-MACD): A Dynamic Path Planning Algorithm for UAVs

Abstract

A relevant task in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) flight is path planning in 3 D environments. This task must be completed using the least possible computing time. The aim of this article is to combine methodologies to optimise the task in time and offer a complete 3 D trajectory. The flight environment will be considered as a 3 D adaptive discrete mesh, where grids are created with minimal refinement in the search for collision-free spaces. The proposed path planning algorithm for UAV saves computational time and memory resources compared with classical techniques. With the construction of the discrete meshing, a cost response methodology is applied as a discrete deterministic finite automaton (DDFA). A set of optimal partial responses, calculated recursively, indicates the collision-free spaces in the final path for the UAV flight.