Autonomous UAV Route Planning for Coverage Maximization in Environmental Monitoring: A Systematic Literature Review

arXiv cs.AI · 18 hours ago

Researchers conducted a systematic literature review on autonomous UAV route planning for environmental monitoring, analyzing 562 records from 2015-2026 following PRISMA 2020 framework guidelines. From initial screening, 247 studies were retained for full-text eligibility assessment, with preliminary analysis revealing concentration on coverage-oriented formulations and multi-UAV coordination but limited work on weather, uncertainty, and obstacle-rich environments. The review identifies a fragmented research landscape with potential simulation-to-reality gaps and growing interest in reinforcement learning and hybrid optimization approaches for realistic environmental monitoring.