The ability to efficiently plan and execute automated and precise search missions using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during emergency response situations is imperative. Precise navigation between obstacles and time-efficient searching of 3D structures and buildings are essential for locating survivors and people in need in emergency response missions. In this work we address this challenging problem by proposing a unified search planning framework that automates the process of UAV-based search planning in 3D environments. Specifically, we propose a novel search planning framework which enables automated planning and execution of collision-free search trajectories in 3D by taking into account low-level mission constrains (e.g., the UAV dynamical and sensing model), mission objectives (e.g., the mission execution time and the UAV energy efficiency) and user-defined mission specifications (e.g., the 3D structures to be searched and minimum detection probability constraints). The capabilities and performance of the proposed approach are demonstrated through extensive simulated 3D search scenarios.

翻译：在应急响应情况下，利用无人机高效规划和执行自动化且精准的搜索任务至关重要。精确地穿越障碍物导航以及高效搜索三维结构与建筑物，对于在应急响应任务中定位幸存者和需要帮助的人员必不可少。本文通过提出一种统一的搜索规划框架来应对这一具有挑战性的问题，该框架能够自动化基于无人机的三维环境搜索规划过程。具体而言，我们提出了一种新颖的搜索规划框架，该框架通过考虑低层次任务约束（例如无人机动力学与感知模型）、任务目标（例如任务执行时间与无人机能效）以及用户定义的任务规格（例如待搜索的三维结构及最小检测概率约束），实现了三维空间中无碰撞搜索轨迹的自动化规划与执行。通过广泛的三维搜索场景仿真，展示了所提方法的能力与性能。