A Survey on LiDAR-based Autonomous Aerial Vehicles

Abstract: This survey offers a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in LiDAR-based autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), covering their design, perception, planning, and control strategies. Over the past decade, LiDAR technology has become a crucial enabler for high-speed, agile, and reliable UAV navigation, especially in GPS-denied environments. The paper begins by examining the evolution of LiDAR sensors, emphasizing their unique advantages such as high accuracy, long-range depth measurements, and robust performance under various lighting conditions, making them particularly well-suited for UAV applications. The integration of LiDAR with UAVs has significantly enhanced their autonomy, enabling complex missions in diverse and challenging environments. Subsequently, we explore essential software components, including perception technologies for state estimation and mapping, as well as trajectory planning and control methodologies, and discuss their adoption in LiDAR-based UAVs. Additionally, we analyze various practical applications of the LiDAR-based UAVs, ranging from industrial operations to supporting different aerial platforms and UAV swarm deployments. The survey concludes by discussing existing challenges and proposing future research directions to advance LiDAR-based UAVs and enhance multi-UAV collaboration. By synthesizing recent developments, this paper aims to provide a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners working to push the boundaries of LiDAR-based UAV systems.