Systems and methods for uav path planning and control

Abstract

A method for implementing obstacle avoidance of a movable object within an environment is provided. The method includes determining whether the movable object is going to collide with one or more obstacles based on a predicted movement of the movable object along a motion path. The motion path is incrementally adjusted in at least one direction in response to the movable object being determined to collide with the one or more obstacles. For each incremental angle in the at least one direction, whether the movable object is going to collide with the one or more obstacles is determined.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for implementing obstacle avoidance of a movable object within an environment, comprising:
 determining whether the movable object is going to collide with one or more obstacles based on a predicted movement of the movable object along a motion path;   adjusting the motion path incrementally in at least one direction in response to the movable object being determined to collide with the one or more obstacles; and   determining, for each incremental angle in the at least one direction, whether the movable object is going to collide with the one or more obstacles.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining whether the movable object is going to collide with the one or more obstacles comprises overlaying a trajectory indicative of the motion path onto an environmental map, and determining whether the trajectory is proximate to or intersects with the one or more obstacles depicted within the environmental map. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adjusting an angle of the motion path incrementally until a first angle, wherein the movable object is determined not to collide with the one or more obstacles in response to the motion path being adjusted to the first angle. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising effecting movement of the movable object along the motion path at the first angle to avoid the one or more obstacles. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising adjusting the angle of the motion path incrementally in a first direction until a second angle that is greater than the first angle, wherein the movable object is determined not to collide with the one or more obstacles in response to the motion path being adjusted to the second angle. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising effecting movement of the movable object along the motion path at the second angle to avoid the one or more obstacles. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the motion path at the second angle includes a higher safety factor for the movable object to avoid the one or more obstacles compared to a safe factor associated with the motion path at the first angle. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the angle of the motion path is adjusted incrementally in fixed intervals. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the angle of the motion path is adjusted incrementally at varying intervals. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the angle of the motion path is adjusted incrementally in a dynamic manner based on presence or absence of obstacles in the motion path. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising adjusting the angle of the motion path incrementally in a first direction to determine one or more angles at which a probability that the movable object is going to collide with the one or more obstacles is less than a first threshold. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising, in response to no angle at which the probability is less than the first threshold being determined for the first direction, adjusting the angle of the motion path incrementally in a second direction to determine one or more angles at which a probability that the movable object is going to collide with the one or more obstacles is less than a second threshold. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the first direction and the second direction are orthogonal to each other. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising adjusting the angle of the motion path incrementally in a plurality of directions. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein a first direction, a second direction, a third direction, and a fourth direction respectively correspond to an upward direction, a leftward direction, a rightward direction, and a downward direction from a roll axis of the movable object. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising adjusting the angle of the motion path incrementally in the plurality of directions, and the plurality of directions sweep outwardly from the movable object in a 3D configuration. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one direction is defined relative to at least one axis of a world coordinate system within the environment. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one direction is defined relative to at least one of an X-axis, a Y-axis, or a Z-axis of the world coordinate system. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining one or more angles at which a probability that the movable object is going to collide with the one or more obstacles is less than a threshold. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising adjusting the motion path of the movable object based on the one or more angles.