LiDARFlow: Real-Time Panel-Based MAV Guidance in Unknown Environments

Abstract: This paper presents a guidance algorithm for micro aerial vehicles operating in unknown, cluttered environments using only onboard sensing. The method is based on a panel formulation originally derived from aerodynamic potential-flow theory and generates smooth, collision-free guidance vectors from locally perceived obstacles. The approach is extended to unknown environments by constructing and updating the obstacle representation online from onboard LiDAR measurements. The resulting obstacle-avoidance field is integrated with a nominal guiding vector field to produce the final control input. The system is experimentally validated in indoor flight tests under two scenarios: waypoint navigation and directional guidance. In both cases, the vehicle successfully completes its task while avoiding all obstacles in real time using only onboard perception. The results demonstrate that the method is computationally lightweight and suitable for onboard implementation, with pointcloud processing identified as the main practical limitation. These results support the feasibility of lightweight onboard guidance in unknown environments.