:The authors have proposed the A * -EC hybrid path planning method which can generate a 3D flight path quickly considering terrain and obstacle avoidance. This paper proposes two methods to improve its calculation time in order to apply it to a larger scale problem in real time. Using the two methods, the calculation time reduces approximately from half to quarter. The authors measure the calculation times to examine the performance of the improved A * -EC method by changing the number of waypoints and "nodes" which are the apexes of the 3D cells expressing terrain and obstacles. Calculation time is about 10-100 seconds in case of 50-100 waypoints and 2000-7500 nodes. The authors apply the method to a large scale problem in which there are 61 waypoints and about 7000 nodes, and actual topological information and recorded weather information are used as obstacles. The simulation result shows the method can be used in real time.
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