Airways: Optimization-Based Planning of Quadrotor Trajectories according to High-Level User Goals

Abstract: In this paper we propose a computational design tool that al-lows end-users to create advanced quadrotor trajectories witha variety of application scenarios in mind. Our algorithm al-lows novice users to create quadrotor based use-cases withoutrequiring deep knowledge in either quadrotor control or theunderlying constraints of the target domain. To achieve thisgoal we propose an optimization-based method that gener-ates feasible trajectories which can be flown in the real world.Furthermore, the method incorporates high-level human ob-jectives into the planning of flight trajectories. An easy touse 3D design tool allows for quick specification and edit-ing of trajectories as well as for intuitive exploration of theresulting solution space. We demonstrate the utility of our ap-proach in several real-world application scenarios, includingaerial-videography, robotic light-painting and drone racing.