Multi-robot visual coverage path planning: Geometrical metamorphosis of the workspace through raster graphics based approaches

Abstract

Aerial multi-robot systems are a robust remote sensing choice to collect environmental data from the Earth's surface. To accomplish this mission in a collaborative way, unmanned aerial vehicles must perform a full coverage trajectory over a target area while acquiring imagery of it. In this paper we address the multi coverage path planning problem with an aerial vehicles team. The approach proposed is hybrid, since is it is composed by an on-line and an off-line steps. This work is based on an optimal solution which is discretized to compute the coverage paths. This work proposes a multi coverage path planning solution making use of computer graphics tools in the world transformation from continuous to discrete, focusing on the aerial images acquisition. The workspace transformation from continuous to discrete is discussed and raster graphics based algorithms are employed. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.