Work

Efficient Trajectory Planning for Drone-Based Logistics: A JPS–Bresenham and Ellipsoid-Based Safe Corridor Approach

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Quadrotor motion planning in cluttered environments presents significant challenges in achieving both computational efficiency and trajectory smoothness, particularly in low-altitude economy and intelligent energy system applications where autonomous aerial vehicles perform infrastructure inspection and power line monitoring. Many existing methods either rely on sampling-based algorithms that suffer from long computation times and suboptimal paths, or employ trajectory representations that produce high-order derivative discontinuities unsuitable for agile flight. In this work, we propose an efficient hierarchical motion planning framework that integrates a JPS–Bresenham-based path search with safe flight corridor construction and Bézier curve optimization. Our approach addresses trajectory generation through a two-stage process: a front-end path search that efficiently identifies collision-free paths with reduced waypoints, followed by a back-end optimization that leverages convex safe corridors with overlapping regions to expand the solution space. Through comprehensive benchmark experiments across six different map scenarios, we demonstrate that our method outperforms RRT* and PRM in both path quality and computational efficiency. Monte Carlo experiments across varying map sizes and obstacle densities confirm robustness and scalability advantages. Comparative studies with state-of-the-art planners demonstrate superior success rates and cost efficiency while maintaining strict kinodynamic feasibility. The Bézier-based optimization reduces snap integral by up to 55% compared to ordinary polynomial approaches, demonstrating its superiority for fast quadrotor trajectory planning in complex environments.

Source: Drones

DOI: 10.3390/drones10050323

Authors: Xiaoming Mai, Weixu Lin, Na Dong, Shuai Liu

Institutions: Tianjin University, China Southern Power Grid (China)

Language: English

Topic: Robotic Path Planning Algorithms

Subfield: Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137