Distributed Trajectory Planning for a Formation of Aerial Vehicles Inspecting Wind Turbines

This paper proposes a distributed method for optimal trajectory planning in formations of multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles supporting inspection and maintenance tasks of wind turbines. Since wind turbines are usually located at places of difficult access and exposed to strong wind gusts, UAVs become a valuable asset for these risky operations. The system consists of a leader-follower formation where one UAV visits a series of inspection points indicated by a human operator on the ground, while the others follow it keeping relative angles to provide alternative inspection views. The distance of the formation to the inspection points and the relative angles can be modified by the operator online, who can command the multi-camera system as a whole. Our optimization scheme results in trajectories that allow the formation to adapt its shape in real time by means of smooth and safe trajectories, avoiding jerky movements to produce pleasant images and collisions. We present experimental results in realistic simulations.