This paper describes the flight path planning for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) based on the advanced swarm optimization algorithm of the bat algorithm (BA) in a static environment. The main purpose of this work is that the UAVs can obtain an accident-free, shorter, and safer flight path between the starting point and the endpoint in the complex three-dimensional battlefield environment. Based on the characteristics of the standard BA and the artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC), a new modification of the BA algorithm is proposed in this work, namely, the improved bat algorithm integrated into the ABC algorithm (IBA). The IBA mainly uses ABC to modify the BA and solves the problem of poor local search ability of the BA. This article demonstrates the convergence of the IBA and performs simulations in MATLAB environment to verify its effectiveness. The simulations showed that the time required for the IBA to obtain the optimum solution is approximately 50% lower than the BA, and that the quality of the optimum solution is about 14% higher than the ABC. Furthermore, by comparing with other traditional and improved swarm intelligent path planning algorithms, the IBA can plan a faster, shorter, safer, accident-free flight path for UAVs. Finally, this article proves that IBA also has good performance in optimizing functions and has broad application potential.

Obstacle avoidance path planning capability, as one of the key capabilities of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) to achieve safe autonomous flight, has always been a hot research topic in UAV research filed. As a commonly used obstacle avoidance path planning algorithm, RRT (Rapid‐exploration Random Tree) algorithm can carry out obstacle avoidance path planning in real time and online. In addition, it can obtain the asymptotically optimal obstacle avoidance path on the premise of ensuring the completeness of probability. However, it has some problems, such as high randomness, slow convergence speed, long transit time, and curved flight trajectory, so that it cannot meet the flight conditions of the actual UAV. To solve these problems, the paper proposes an improved RRT algorithm. In the process of extending the random tree, ACO (ant colony optimization) is introduced to make the planning path asymptotically optimal. The optimized algorithm can set pheromones on the path obtained by RRT and select the next extension point according to the pheromone concentration. And then through a certain number of iterations, it converges to an ideal path scheme. In addition, this paper also uses MATLAB to verify the effectiveness and superiority of the algorithm: Although RRT is easy to fall into local optimization, since the optimization method in this paper can almost certainly converge to the optimal solution, when it is necessary to preplan the path before UAV takeoff, it can be used.

This paper considers the problem of the multiple traveling salesperson problem (MTSP) with multiple depots and closed path. We analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of Partheno-Genetic algorithm (PGA) in solving the MTSP. By integrating the reproduction mechanism in the invasive weed algorithm (IWO), we have solved the defect that the local information of individuals in the PGA population may be missing, and obtained the improved Partheno-Genetic algorithm with reproduction mechanism (RIPGA), which greatly improves the solution performance. By comparing the RIPGA with other GAs and other intelligent algorithms on a large number of traveling salesperson problem (TSP) test functions, we have well verified the solution performance of the RIPGA on the optimal solution, indicating that the algorithm can effectively avoid local convergence. At the same time, the algorithm is less affected by parameters and has good stability.

Aiming at the problem of difficult obstacle avoidance for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) in complex dynamic environments, an improved A*-APF algorithm (BA*-MAPF algorithm) is proposed in this paper. Addressing the A* algorithm’s challenges of lengthy paths, excess nodes, and lack of smoothness, the BA*-MAPF algorithm integrates a bidirectional search strategy, applies interpolation to remove redundant nodes, and uses cubic B-spline curves for path smoothing. To rectify the traditional APF algorithm’s issues with local optimization and ineffective dynamic obstacle avoidance, the BA*-MAPF algorithm revises the gravitational field function by incorporating a distance factor, and fine-tunes the repulsive field function to vary with distance. This adjustment ensures a reduction in gravitational force as distance increases and moderates the repulsive force near obstacles, facilitating more effective local path planning and dynamic obstacle navigation. Through our experimental analysis, the BA*-MAPF algorithm has been validated to significantly outperform existing methods in achieving optimal path planning and dynamic obstacle avoidance, thereby markedly boosting path planning efficiency in varied scenarios.