A Novel Online Path Planning Method for UAV-Based 3D Spectrum Mapping

Constructing three-dimensional (3D) radio environment maps (REMs) has emerged as a promising solution to visualize the spectrum information over the geographical map. In this paper, we propose a novel online path planning method for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based 3D spectrum mapping in unknown environments. The UAV can effectively collect spectrum data along dynamically planned paths while adhering to budget constraints. We formulate the path planning problem by a surrogate objective that maximizes the information gain along the sampling path. Specifically, a Gaussian process (GP) is adopted to estimate the spatial distribution of received signal strength (RSS) based on observations. A goal location decision algorithm based on the negative integrated posterior variance (NIPV) criterion is developed, which identifies high-value locations by maximizing the reduction in uncertainty. Besides, an uncertainty-aware local path planner is introduced to optimize sampling paths during flight. Simulation results demonstrate that it achieves at least a 66.49% improvement in REM construction accuracy and 42.74% reduction in mapping uncertainty compared to traditional methods.