In this paper, we propose a novel cluster-based informative path planning algorithm to
simultaneously explore and inspect a large-scale unknown environment with an Unmanned
Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Most of the existing methods address the surface inspection problem
as a volume exploration problem, and consider that the surface has been scanned when the
corresponding volume has been covered. Unfortunately, this approach may lead to
inaccurate 3D models of the environment, and the UAV may not achieve global coverage …