Energy-Aware 3D Navigation of a Solar-Powered UAV in an Urban Environment
Siyuan Li, Jingwen Wei · 2024
This paper considers a scenario in which a solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) tries to find an energy-efficient path in a complex 3D urban environment and return to the charging station as soon as possible while maintaining positive residual energy. In the presence of solar energy, the maximum capacity of the on-board battery is considered. Two path planning algorithms are developed to find the energy-efficient and time-efficient path for this situation. Some cost functions are applied to the original algorithm to meet the energy requirements. Computer simulations are conducted to prove the effectiveness of the proposed methods. Compared to a benchmark method, the proposed methods show better results.