Automatic Zoning Optimization Path Planning Method for UAV Inspection Path in Photovoltaic Power Station

The application of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) inspection is gradually popularized in photovoltaic power stations, but the existing UAV inspection planning methods are currently strongly limited by the application scenarios and consumes a large amount of manual work. To ameliorate this, an automatic zoning optimization path planning method for UAV inspection path in photovoltaic power station is proposed in this paper. For any application scenario or scale of the power station, the whole station inspection path can be generated systematically according to the actual layout information and inspection requirements of the photovoltaic power station, with no need to swap the batteries manually halfway. The method includes following steps, waypoint coordinates determination, hangar location and jurisdiction demarcation, flight zoning and path optimization. Moreover, dynamic planning and hybrid ecological symbiosis algorithm is carried out in hangar location selection and inspection path planning. The application case of an 80MW photovoltaic power plant in East China shows that the hybrid symbiotic organism search path planning algorithm performances greater stability at different power station scales. The proposed zoning optimization path planning method can be highly adapted to any power station distribution specificity and reduce the length of the inspection path in the whole station by 37.98%–68.4%, compared to the manual path planning scheme.