Path planning and tracking are crucial components in the macroscopic inspection of wind turbine for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The task requires UAVs to pass by each turbine and obtain clear images. A cubic spline curve is used for the path planning under flight constraints such as flight path angle and normal acceleration. Based on energy evaluation, the planned path is optimized in the manner of a traveling salesman problem meanwhile satisfying flight constraints. A vector field method is then adopted to guide the vehicle to track the planned path and avoid the turbines in real time. Simulation is conducted to verify that the planned path satisfies the flight constraints and optimizes the energy consumption. Moreover, precise path tracking and real-time turbine avoidance are successfully achieved.

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Path Planning and Tracking for Macroscopic Inspection of Wind Turbines

  • Hanwen Zhang,
  • Biao Wang,
  • Chaoying Tang,
  • Wei Chen

摘要

Path planning and tracking are crucial components in the macroscopic inspection of wind turbine for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The task requires UAVs to pass by each turbine and obtain clear images. A cubic spline curve is used for the path planning under flight constraints such as flight path angle and normal acceleration. Based on energy evaluation, the planned path is optimized in the manner of a traveling salesman problem meanwhile satisfying flight constraints. A vector field method is then adopted to guide the vehicle to track the planned path and avoid the turbines in real time. Simulation is conducted to verify that the planned path satisfies the flight constraints and optimizes the energy consumption. Moreover, precise path tracking and real-time turbine avoidance are successfully achieved.