Minimum-Length Point-to-Line Path Planning for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

TL;DR

This paper introduces an analytical method to compute the shortest fixed-altitude path for UAVs from a starting point to a target line, optimizing flight efficiency by minimizing path length.

Contribution

It provides a novel analytical solution for minimum-length Dubins paths from a point to a line with specified orientations, enhancing UAV path planning accuracy.

Findings

Derived a formula for Dubins path length as a function of endpoint on the line.

Obtained an analytical solution for the minimum-length path.

Validated the method with numerical examples.

Abstract

This paper presents a method of finding the shortest path for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying from an initial point to a target line at a constant altitude. The length of a Dubins path is derived as a function of the final position on the line and then differentiated to obtain its extreme value. The primary contribution of the study is a simple analytical solution to determine the minimum-length Dubins path from an initial position to a target line with initial and final orientations given. The proposed method is demonstrated with numerical examples.