Optimal Real Time Drone Path Planning for Monitoring Multiple Moving Targets Under Range Constraints

Overview & Synopsis

We consider the problem of planning a drone trajectory to monitor multiple moving targets under a fixed path-length constraint. We formulate the problem as a constrained optimization problem and derive a vector-field differential equation that continuously improves feasible trajectories while preserving the path-length constraint. To address dependence on target visitation order, we combine continuous trajectory optimization with iterative reordering strategies based on predicted target positions and traveling salesman heuristics. The proposed methods were evaluated using six Monte Carlo simulation scenarios with varying numbers of targets, target speeds, and path-length constraints. The best algorithms reduced monitoring cost by approximately a factor of 10 for 20-target scenarios and a factor of 20 for 40-target scenarios relative to static routing. High-quality solutions for up to 40 moving targets were computed within seconds on standard desktop hardware, demonstrating suitability for rapid adaptive replanning in dynamic monitoring applications.