Route planning of UAV transmission line inspection based on multiresolution grid and optimized RRT* algorithm

With the growing demand for power inspection, drone technology has been widely applied to power facility inspections as an efficient inspection method. However, existing path planning methods often encounter issues such as computational redundancy, unsmooth paths, and insufficient consideration of the geometric features of power equipment in complex power environments, limiting the application of drones in complex power scenarios. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a power line inspection path planning method based on a multi-resolution spatial grid. The proposed method integrates an octree-based multi-resolution grid representation with the Informed RRT*-Connect algorithm, ensuring efficiency and path quality during the search process. When sampling within the information set, the algorithm dynamically adjusts the resolution based on the complexity of the power scenario, improving the precision and robustness of path planning while maintaining computational efficiency. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method significantly reduces computational redundancy and achieves smooth and safe path planning in complex power scenarios, showcasing high practical value.