Solution: The field is 120 meters wide (short side) and 160 meters long (long side). To ensure full coverage, the drone flies parallel passes along the 120-meter width, with each pass covering 20 meters in the 160-meter direction. The number of passes required is $\frac{120}{20} = 6$ passes. Each pass spans 160 meters in length. Since the drone turns at the end of each pass and flies back along the return path, each pass contributes $160 + 160 = 320$ meters of travel—except possibly the last one

["Drone Scanning Field: Optimal Flight Path and Total Distance Calculation", "For agricultural monitoring using drones, precise flight planning is essential to maximize coverage while minimizing energy consumption. A common task involves scanning a rectangular field of 120 meters in width (short side) and 160 meters in length (long side) using a drone flying parallel passes aligned with the shorter side.", "### Understanding the Coverage Strategy", "To fully scan the 120-meter-wide field with 20-meter-wide parallel passes:\n- The field requires $ \frac{120}{20} = 6 $ passes.\n- Each pass is 160 meters long—matching the field’s length.\n- Each pass fully covers one 20-meter-wide strip across the 160-meter length.", "### Drone Flight Path and Return Distance", "A key consideration is whether the drone must return after each pass. While standard operational practice often includes returning to the starting point, in this optimized scenario, the drone flies each 160-meter segment once—no redundant backtracking—since returning only adds distance without advancing new coverage.", "Thus:\n- 6 forward flights of 160 meters each (one per pass)\n- No return segment between passes—each flight ends at the start of the next aligned pass, due to grid alignments minimizing wasted motion", "However, to maintain optimal alignment and scanning continuity, the drone must power a direct 160-meter segment each time—no zigzag or idle turn—making total forward travel:\n$$\n6 \ imes 160 = 960 \ ext{ meters}\n$$", "But wait—does the drone need to turn back and forth between passes? In real-world precision farming drones, a tight grid pattern often requires back-and-forth motion between passes to align sensors, but the problem specifies full coverage via parallel aligned passes, not zigzag scanning. Hence, gripping a continuous parallel sweep, the drone:\n- Flies Industry:5 160m → Scan one 120m-wide strip\n- Turns 90° (efficiently, without wasted distance), flies next 160m in aligned direction\n- Repeats for 6 passes", "Thus, only 6 flight segments, each 160m long, are needed—no separate return between passes.", "### Revisiting Return Logic", "But consider: after completing the first pass (east), the drone is at the far west edge. To begin the second pass (north), it does not need to fly 160m back—it proceeds perpendicularly. The 160m “return” is not a full leg because the next pass starts aligned to the 120m width, not requiring a separate turn flight.", "However, to preserve efficiency and meet full field coverage with aligned parallel lines, the most practical and minimal route assumes the drone completes all 6 pass segments—each 160m—flying the next in sequence without a dedicated return. This reduces total path length.", "Thus, total flight distance = 6 × 160 = 960 meters.", "But let’s confirm with a standard grid: in precision agriculture, a lawnmower pattern with 6 rows of 160m and slight turn efficiencies still totals ~960m when turns are optimized (e.g., diagonal joins minimized via software angles). No backward flight required between rows.", "Therefore, the shortest total travel distance is 960 meters, composed of 6 parallel 160-meter flights, fully aligned to scan the 120m-wide field.", "### Therefore, the solution is:", "Total distance = $6 \ imes 160 = 960$ meters\nNumber of forward flights: 6\nNo separate return flights—each 160m segment is a forward scan leg", "### Key Insight", "- Pass width (20m) determines the number of passes: $120 \div 20 = 6$\n- Pass length (160m) is fixed by field length\n- Optimal path eliminates redundant return segments—drone flies each aligned 160m strip once\n- Standard operations may include return, but the minimal scanning path for full coverage requires only the 6 aligned passes", "Conclusion:\nFor full coverage of a 120m × 160m field with 20m-width parallel passes, flying 6 successive 160-meter segments—each perfectly aligned and fully scanned—achieves minimal total flight distance of 960 meters, with no extra return segments beyond necessary positioning (which is accounted for in route efficiency, not additional flight).", "Keywords: drone scanning, agricultural drone, parallel pass coverage, field navigation, solution: 120m × 160m field, solution: optimal drone flight path, 6 × 160 = 960 m, full width coverage, minimized total distance, drone flight planning."]