Systems and methods to determine flight paths for aerial vehicles based on risk

Abstract

Described are example systems and methods generally directed to systems and methods for determining and managing flight planning and operations for unmanned vehicles, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The described systems and methods can facilitate generation of a risk-weighted model of an environment in which vehicles may operate to facilitate determination of a total cumulative risk associated with certain flight paths between an origin and a destination in the environment. The total cumulative risk associated with a flight path can include a risk associated risks present on the ground along the flight path, as well as risks associated with the vehicle performing the flight. The total cumulative risk for a given flight path can be used to identify flight paths presenting the lowest relative risk and can also be compared against a risk threshold to determine whether the total cumulative risk associated with the flight path is within an acceptable range.