Survey on Path Planning for UAVs in Healthcare Missions.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare logistics
• Robotics and Automation
• Transportation Engineering

Background:

• Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as critical tools in healthcare, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Their application in medical transportation is being explored for efficient and rapid delivery of essential supplies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art applications and methodologies of UAVs in healthcare.
• To specifically focus on the challenges and solutions related to UAV path planning for medical transportation.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review categorizing studies by mission type, challenges, and performance metrics.
• Analysis of existing research on UAV path planning in the healthcare context.

Main Results:

• Identified key challenges in UAV healthcare missions, including delivery range limitations.
• Highlighted the importance of addressing path planning problems for successful UAV deployment.
• Summarized recent advancements and solutions in UAV path planning for medical logistics.

Conclusions:

• UAVs show significant potential for revolutionizing healthcare transportation.
• Further research in realistic environments is crucial to validate UAV usability and feasibility.
• Addressing path planning and operational constraints is key to unlocking the full potential of UAVs in healthcare.