Uniform coverage structural inspection path-planning for micro aerial vehicles

This work proposes a new path-planning framework that provides uniform coverage of 3D structures by employing an iterative strategy to improve the inspection path that benefits from remeshing-techniques, while the first full solution is computed very fast. The resulting paths inspect each detail of the structure from a distance that directly depends to the local geometrical complexity of the structure and viewpoints are selected accordingly. For each admissible set of viewpoints, a Traveling Salesman Problem is solved and leads to the inspection route that the algorithm outputs at each iteration. The proposed path-planning algorithm is initially evaluated in extensive simulation studies. Finally, an experimental case study using a Micro Aerial Vehicle and a realistic mockup model of a power transformer is conducted, validating the advantages of the proposed scheme in conducting fine-quality inspection.