DOI: 10.3390/drones10070479 ISSN: 2504-446X

Closed-Loop 3D Path Planning and Local Replanning for UAV Inspection in GIS Rooms

Xiaoyi Liu, Yuhan Yin, Kunxiao Wu, Yetong Zhang, Jianyong Zheng, Penghao Chen, Kangxin Cai, Fei Mei

To address the problems of closed-loop task organization, strong corridor constraints, and path failure after local disturbances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) inspection of gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) rooms, this paper proposes a topology-and-corridor-guided bias-suppressed D* (TCG-BS-D*) method for closed-loop three-dimensional (3D) path planning and local replanning. The proposed method constructs a structured guidance model based on the inspection-corridor topology, generates local 3D path segments according to a predetermined inspection sequence, and forms a nominal closed-loop inspection path through bias suppression and path regularization. Meanwhile, for local maintenance blockage and dynamic disturbance scenarios, an alternative local replanning strategy is applied to the affected path segments. Simulation results show that, under the static closed-loop inspection condition, the proposed method achieves a total path length of 700.22 m, a total inspection time of 269.32 s, an average safety clearance of 8.18 m, 37 large-angle turns, a corridor adherence rate of 80.73%, and a task completion rate of 100%, showing superior performance in inspection efficiency, safety margin, trajectory regularity, and corridor consistency. Under the local blockage condition, the replanned path introduces path-length and time increments of 71.29 m and 25.88 s, respectively, while maintaining the minimum safety clearance at 1.52 m and increasing the corridor adherence rate to 83.91%. Under dynamic disturbance conditions, the minimum dynamic safety clearance is improved from −2.71 m to 17.84 m, effectively eliminating the local dynamic collision risk. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can balance closed-loop path-generation efficiency, corridor-structure consistency, safety margin, and adaptability to local disturbances, providing an effective solution for UAV inspection path planning in GIS rooms.

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