UAV dynamic path planning based on obstacle position prediction in an unknown environment

The application of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been increasingly popular for its advantages such as convenience and mobility. Thus, its application scenarios have been more and more complex. The UAV must avoid not only stationary obstacles but also dynamic obstacles. Typical UAV path planning algorithms perform well in avoiding static obstacles but poor in dynamic ones. A new dynamic path planning algorithm based on obstacles’ position prediction and modified artificial potential field - HOAP is proposed in this paper. The Markov prediction model is employed to predict the obstacles’ future position with an obstacle grid map. And to resolve the local minima of the typical APF algorithm, a new virtual obstacle method is put forward. What’s more, the attractive force gain coefficient gradient increase method is proposed to solve local oscillation. Simulation results show that the UAV can fly a safe path with high accuracy under static or uncertain dynamic obstacles environments.