A target visiting path planning algorithm for the fixed-wing UAV in obstacle environment

In this paper, we study the target visiting path planning algorithm for the fixed-wing UAV in obstacle environment. The fixed-wing UAV is modeled as the so-called Dubins vehicle. A multiple-obstacle avoidance algorithm is firstly presented to calculate the optimal flyable Dubins trajectory between two given poses. And a novel modified discrete particle swarm optimization algorithm (DPSO) is defined and developed to solve the Dubins Traveling Salesman Problem. The objective function in this model is to minimize the distance that the UAV covers in the missions. Numerical results have shown the effectiveness of the proposed path planning scheme and the modified DPSO algorithm.