MMH-Planner: Multi-Mode Hybrid Trajectory Planning Method for UAV Efficient Flight Based on Real-Time Spatial Awareness

Motion planning is a critical component of intelligent unmanned systems, enabling their complex autonomous operations. However, current planning algorithms still face limitations in planning efficiency due to inflexible strategies and weak adaptability. To address this, this paper proposes a multi-mode hybrid trajectory planning method for UAVs based on real-time environmental awareness, which dynamically selects the optimal planning model for high-quality trajectory generation in response to environmental changes. First, we introduce a goal-oriented spatial awareness method that rapidly assesses flight safety in the upcoming environments. Second, a multi-mode hybrid trajectory planning mechanism is proposed, which can enhance the planning efficiency by selecting the optimal planning model for trajectory generation based on prior spatial awareness. Finally, we design a lazy replanning strategy that triggers replanning only when necessary to reduce computational resource consumption while maintaining flight quality. To validate the performance of the proposed method, we conducted comprehensive comparative experiments in simulation environments. Results demonstrate that our approach outperforms existing state-of-the-art (SOTA) algorithms across multiple metrics, achieving the best performance particularly in terms of the average number of planning iterations and computational cost per iteration. Furthermore, the effectiveness of our approach is further verified through real-world flight experiments integrated with a self-developed intelligent UAV platform.