UAV autopilot path planning for terrain avoidanceusing theta-star algorithmon modified virtual map

A flight path planning system for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is built and verified using theta-star algorithm. Considering of the terrain feature on a modified virtual map, safety requirement, GPS positioning error and UAV performance, the proposed path planning algorithm determines a flight path and guarantees the safe flight with a minimum cost constraint. By integrating GPS and X-Bee communication modem into an open source autopilot system, a UAV system performsreliable flight trackto satisfy with the flight path planning command from the ground control station.