Learning to construct a solution for UAV path planning problem with positioning error correction

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are advanced flight systems. However, their positioning systems cause distance-dependent errors during flight. This study seeks to solve the UAV path planning problem with positioning error correction (UPEC) with an end-to-end method. Traditional methods struggle to balance solution quality and computational overload, and often have limited utilisation of scenario information. To overcome these issues, we propose a path planning model (PPM) based on deep reinforcement learning to solve the UPEC. The model has a complete structure that includes a mathematical model, feature engineering, solution process, neural policy network, scenario generation, training process, and test solution mechanism. Specifically, we first establish a Markov decision process (MDP) for UPEC and apply feature engineering with effective features to support decision-making. We then introduce a path planning neural network (PPNN) to represent the MDP policy. Based on the dataset generated from the multi-rule combination validation, we train the PPNN using the proposed RL algorithm with storage pool. Furthermore, we propose a backtracking mechanism to guarantee solution feasibility during the construction process. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed PPM outperforms existing state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of solution quality and timeliness, and the backtracking mechanism effectively improves the scenario completion rate. The model study indicates the efficacy of our training algorithm and the generalisation of the PPNN. Additionally, our construction process is problem-tailored and more suitable for addressing UPEC than iterative search algorithms, because it effectively mitigates the impact of invalid nodes.