Electromagnetic Risk-Aware MPPI-Based 3D Path Planning for UAV Inspection in Converter Valve Halls

To address the challenges of insufficient safety, poor trajectory executability, and low stability of online optimization in UAV inspection path planning for converter valve halls under conditions of dense obstacles, narrow passages, and complex electromagnetic environments, an electromagnetic risk-aware three-dimensional path planning method based on model predictive path integral (MPPI) is proposed. Considering the typical “valve-tower array–bushing” layout in converter valve halls, a three-dimensional obstacle model consisting of prismatic valve towers and cylindrical bushings is established. A comprehensive cost function is then constructed by jointly incorporating path length, safety clearance, trajectory smoothness, and electromagnetic risk. On this basis, an electromagnetic risk term, a corridor guidance term, and a control increment regularization term are integrated into the MPPI receding-horizon optimization framework to enable online generation of inspection trajectories. Simulation results demonstrate that, compared with A*, Vanilla MPPI, and Corridor MPPI, the proposed method generates smoother and safer trajectories and achieves superior overall performance in terms of total cost, minimum clearance, success rate, and mean tracking error. The proposed method provides an effective solution for intelligent UAV inspection path planning in converter valve halls.