3D Coverage Path Planning with CesiumJS & Ion

An interactive 3D coverage path planning application built with CesiumJS and Cesium Ion. This tool allows users to draw polygons on a 3D terrain map and automatically generate optimized coverage paths for drones or other vehicles.

Features

• Interactive polygon drawing on 3D terrain
• Automatic coverage path generation using a lawnmower pattern
• Terrain-following capability for elevation-aware flight paths
• Path smoothing to create more flyable routes
• Customizable parameters (altitude, line spacing, smoothing)
• Dynamic visualization of the path with start/end points
• Professional UI with sidebars and telemetry information

Project Structure

/
├── index.html            - Main HTML file
├── app.js                - Main application logic
├── ui/                   - UI components
│   ├── controls.js       - User interface controls
│   ├── path-algorithms.js - Path planning algorithms
│   ├── styles.css        - Stylesheet for the application
│   └── icons/            - Icons for the application
└── README.md             - This documentation file

Setup

1. Get a Cesium Ion Token:

   • Sign up at https://cesium.com/ion/
   • Create an access token
   • Replace the placeholder token in app.js with your own token:

   Cesium.Ion.defaultAccessToken = 'YOUR_TOKEN_HERE';

2. Serve the Application:

   • You need to serve the files through a web server (not directly from the file system)
   • Using Python:

     python -m http.server
     

   • Using Node.js:

     npx http-server
     

3. Access the Application:

   • Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:8000 (or whatever port your server uses)

Usage

1. Draw a Polygon:

   • Click the "Draw Polygon" button
   • Click multiple points on the map to create your area of interest
   • Double-click to complete the polygon

2. Generate a Path:

   • Adjust parameters as needed:
     • Altitude: Height above terrain (or fixed altitude if "Follow Terrain" is unchecked)
     • Line Spacing: Distance between parallel paths
     • Follow Terrain: When checked, the path will follow the terrain at the specified altitude
     • Smooth Path: When checked, smooths sharp turns for more flyable paths
     • Smoothing Intensity: Controls how aggressively to smooth the path
   • Click "Generate Path" to create the coverage path

3. View the Results:

   • The path is displayed as a yellow line over the terrain
   • Green point: Start position
   • Red point: End position
   • Telemetry panel shows path statistics:
     • Number of waypoints
     • Total path length
     • Estimated flight time
     • Area coverage

4. Clear Everything:

   • Click "Clear All" to remove the polygon and path

Technical Implementation

• Polygon Creation: Uses Cesium's ScreenSpaceEventHandler for user interactions
• Path Generation: Creates a lawnmower pattern perpendicular to the longest edge
• Path Smoothing: Uses cubic Bezier curves to smooth sharp turns
• Terrain Sampling: Uses sampleTerrainMostDetailed() for elevation data
• Line Clipping: Custom implementation to ensure paths stay within the polygon
• Modular Architecture: Separates UI, path algorithms, and application logic

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit issues or pull requests to improve the functionality or fix bugs.

License

MIT License