3D offline path planning for a surveillance aerial vehicle using B-splines

This paper presents an offline path planning method in 3D space for a surveillance aerial vehicle. In this method, the aerial vehicle is supposed to visit particular points on the path, and the collision between the vehicle and the fixed obstacles in the environment must be avoided. In order to accomplish the mission, first, the path is generated using B-splines. Then, the feasibility of tracking the designed path for the vehicle is considered by analyzing the vehicle´s dynamic constraints, such as limitations on deflections of control surfaces. The analysis is supported by a simulation. Potential extension of the proposed analysis to multiple aerial vehicles has been also discussed at the end of this paper.