Path Planning for Fully Autonomous UAVs-A Taxonomic Review and Future Perspectives

Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) rely on advanced path planning to operate independently, especially in unfamiliar settings without human intervention. The process typically involves localization, mapping, optimal path selection, motion planning, and control. Achieving autonomous navigatio...

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Main Authors: Geeta Sharma, Sanjeev Jain, Radhe Shyam Sharma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10840190/
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author Geeta Sharma
Sanjeev Jain
Radhe Shyam Sharma
author_facet Geeta Sharma
Sanjeev Jain
Radhe Shyam Sharma
author_sort Geeta Sharma
collection DOAJ
description Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) rely on advanced path planning to operate independently, especially in unfamiliar settings without human intervention. The process typically involves localization, mapping, optimal path selection, motion planning, and control. Achieving autonomous navigation from one point to another requires balancing various factors, such as energy efficiency, speed, cost, path length, and computation time. In this study, a novel taxonomy that categorizes UAV path planning into four distinct classifications is introduced. A systematic review of the technological advancements in path planning methodologies, tracking the evolution from classical techniques to cutting-edge solutions, with a particular focus on dynamic environments is also represented. This review includes a comparative analysis of various methods based on factors including approach utilized, testing platform, environment type, time efficiency, etc. Various relevant parameters and benchmark datasets that are crucial for UAV path planning are also explored. Despite widespread use, current methodologies still face significant challenges, such as handling unknown threats in dynamic environments, effective obstacle avoidance, limited payload capacity, real-time responsiveness, and energy consumption. These issues limit their overall usefulness. This study aims to highlight these challenges and suggest potential directions for future research, ultimately contributing to the advancement of real-time UAV path planning.
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spelling doaj-art-f8bd8f2666cf4ba9ade238e39283fbe32025-01-25T00:01:26ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-0113133561337910.1109/ACCESS.2025.352975410840190Path Planning for Fully Autonomous UAVs-A Taxonomic Review and Future PerspectivesGeeta Sharma0https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9594-3226Sanjeev Jain1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1574-0522Radhe Shyam Sharma2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6279-6265Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, Central University of Jammu, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, IndiaDepartment of Computer Science and Information Technology, Central University of Jammu, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, IndiaCentre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, IndiaAutonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) rely on advanced path planning to operate independently, especially in unfamiliar settings without human intervention. The process typically involves localization, mapping, optimal path selection, motion planning, and control. Achieving autonomous navigation from one point to another requires balancing various factors, such as energy efficiency, speed, cost, path length, and computation time. In this study, a novel taxonomy that categorizes UAV path planning into four distinct classifications is introduced. A systematic review of the technological advancements in path planning methodologies, tracking the evolution from classical techniques to cutting-edge solutions, with a particular focus on dynamic environments is also represented. This review includes a comparative analysis of various methods based on factors including approach utilized, testing platform, environment type, time efficiency, etc. Various relevant parameters and benchmark datasets that are crucial for UAV path planning are also explored. Despite widespread use, current methodologies still face significant challenges, such as handling unknown threats in dynamic environments, effective obstacle avoidance, limited payload capacity, real-time responsiveness, and energy consumption. These issues limit their overall usefulness. This study aims to highlight these challenges and suggest potential directions for future research, ultimately contributing to the advancement of real-time UAV path planning.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10840190/Path planningdeep learningdeep reinforcement learningheuristic approachesmachine learningunmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
spellingShingle Geeta Sharma
Sanjeev Jain
Radhe Shyam Sharma
Path Planning for Fully Autonomous UAVs-A Taxonomic Review and Future Perspectives
IEEE Access
Path planning
deep learning
deep reinforcement learning
heuristic approaches
machine learning
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
title Path Planning for Fully Autonomous UAVs-A Taxonomic Review and Future Perspectives
title_full Path Planning for Fully Autonomous UAVs-A Taxonomic Review and Future Perspectives
title_fullStr Path Planning for Fully Autonomous UAVs-A Taxonomic Review and Future Perspectives
title_full_unstemmed Path Planning for Fully Autonomous UAVs-A Taxonomic Review and Future Perspectives
title_short Path Planning for Fully Autonomous UAVs-A Taxonomic Review and Future Perspectives
title_sort path planning for fully autonomous uavs a taxonomic review and future perspectives
topic Path planning
deep learning
deep reinforcement learning
heuristic approaches
machine learning
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10840190/
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AT sanjeevjain pathplanningforfullyautonomousuavsataxonomicreviewandfutureperspectives
AT radheshyamsharma pathplanningforfullyautonomousuavsataxonomicreviewandfutureperspectives