Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) path planning and control assisted by Augmented Reality (AR): the case of indoor drones

Following the recent advances in Industry 4.0 and the upcoming Industry 5.0, the use of multiple UAVs for indoor tasks has risen, particularly in real-time remote monitoring, wireless coverage, and remote sensing. As a result, UAVs can be viewed as proactive problem solvers and can support Internet of Things (IoT) platforms by collecting and monitoring data cost-effectively and efficiently, leading to better decision-making. Moreover, sophisticated drone operations require specialised software and data processing abilities. However, the utilisation of drones has been mainly focused on outdoor environments, thus creating a literature gap regarding indoor navigation and operation. Therefore, the design and development of a method for remote planning and control of drones based on the utilisation of AR is presented in this paper. The proposed method is based on the utilisation of drones for remote monitoring. The suggested approach involves engineers designing a sequence of actions and transmitting them wirelessly to the drone, eliminating the need for human intervention. Thus, the proposed method contributes towards enabling engineers visualise the drone path with the use of Augmented Reality and provides the flexibility of adding multiple way points. The applicability of the developed framework is tested in a laboratory-based machine shop.