A Survey on LiDAR-based Autonomous Aerial Vehicles

2025-09-12

AI Summary

To address the challenge of achieving high-speed, agile, and reliable navigation for autonomous UAVs in GPS-denied environments, this paper presents a systematic survey of end-to-end LiDAR-based perception–mapping–planning–control technologies. It emphasizes deep co-design between LiDAR sensor evolution and UAV platforms, and reviews key technical pathways—including multi-sensor fusion state estimation, real-time high-accuracy mapping, robust trajectory planning under dynamic conditions, and tightly coupled control. We propose a LiDAR-native navigation framework tailored to complex operational scenarios such as industrial inspection and swarm coordination, identifying multi-vehicle collaborative perception and adaptive environmental understanding as critical future directions. The work synthesizes current technological bottlenecks and representative solutions, and establishes the first systematic evaluation and evolutionary reference framework specifically for high-speed LiDAR-equipped UAV navigation.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Localization, Mapping, and Navigation
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Replanning and Plan Repair
• Humans and AI: Human-Aware Planning and Behavior Prediction

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Location- and context-aware Web and WoT applications and services
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Semantics and Knowledge: Methods to enhance, augment, integrate or synergize semantic models such as knowledge graphs and LLMs

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.

Problem

• Surveying LiDAR-based UAV design, perception, planning, and control
• Enhancing autonomous UAV navigation in GPS-denied environments
• Addressing challenges for multi-UAV collaboration and future directions

Innovation

• LiDAR sensors for UAV navigation
• Perception technologies for state estimation
• Trajectory planning and control methodologies