A coverage path planning approach for environmental monitoring using an unmanned surface vehicle
Sanjeev Kumar Ramkumar Sudha, Deepti Mishra, Ibrahim A. Hameed
Abstract
Monitoring and surveillance using autonomous vehicles offer a low-cost and efficient solution compared to conventional methods that require manual surveys. Monitoring water bodies typically involves comprehensive coverage of a specific area of interest. This study investigates a path planning approach for environmental monitoring using an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) for complete coverage of a predefined region of interest within known maps. The region of interest is first classified into multiple sections and ordering them optimally by solving it as a traveling salesman problem (TSP). To construct a full coverage path, parallel tracks covering the entire region are first produced and then joined using Dubins curves to generate a continuous trajectory. A method for optimizing the heading angle of the parallel tracks, to minimize the path length, is also discussed. It can easily be adapted for various surveying and monitoring applications within robotics that require systematic coverage of an area. Additionally, the algorithm presented in this paper is validated through simulations and also in field experiments by deploying a USV to monitor water quality in a lake.