Contour based path planning for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) over hostile terrain

Abstract

In this paper, we present a contour based path planner for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).We make use of efficient algorithm to compute a stealthy path line with desired attributes in radar prone environments. The algorithm is employed to estimate the risk cost of the navigational space and generate an optimized path based on the user-specified threshold altitude value. Thus the generated path is represented with a set of low-radar risk waypoints being the coordinates of its control points. The offline path planner is then approximated using cubic B-splines by considering the least radar risk to the destination. Simulated results are presented, illustrating the potential benefits of such algorithms. © 2009 IEEE.