veerspanning

Veerspanning is a concept in autonomous surveying and robotics referring to a class of coverage strategies that balance area coverage with directional variation. The term combines veering, meaning to turn away from a straight course, with spanning, denoting the construction of a path that connects, or spans, the area to be surveyed.

Definition and approach: A veerspanning path begins with a spanning structure of the work area, such as a grid or spanning tree, which ensures complete coverage in the limit. This base structure is augmented with controlled veers—incremental angular deviations designed to maintain sensor orientation, avoid obstacles, or reduce blind spots. Veers are applied with predictable frequency and magnitude, producing a path that both covers the region and alternates direction.

Applications: It is used in drone-based agricultural mapping, indoor floor cleaning robots, maritime and underwater surveys, and search-and-rescue missions where steady coverage and obstacle avoidance are important.

Performance: Veerspanning aims to minimize gaps and redundant overlap while respecting energy and time constraints. Its efficiency depends on sensor footprint, obstacle density, and the quality of the underlying spanning structure. Compared with simple lawnmower patterns, veerspanning can improve data consistency in irregular regions but may increase path length in highly open spaces.

History and development: The term appears in recent robotics literature as a descriptive model for combining coverage guarantees with directional control, though specific implementations vary by platform.

See also: coverage path planning, lawnmower pattern, spanning tree, Hamiltonian path, autonomous surveying.