Real-Time Swarm Search Method for Real-World Quadcopter Drones

• Main Authors: Ki-Baek Lee, Young-Joo Kim, Young-Dae Hong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-07-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: unmanned aerial vehicle; swarm intelligence; particle swarm optimization; search algorithm
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/8/7/1169

This paper proposes a novel search method for a swarm of quadcopter drones. In the proposed method, inspired by the phenomena of swarms in nature, drones effectively look for the search target by investigating the evidence from the surroundings and communicating with each other. The position update mechanism is implemented using the particle swarm optimization algorithm as the swarm intelligence (a well-known swarm-based optimization algorithm), as well as a dynamic model for the drones to take the real-world environment into account. In addition, the mechanism is processed in real-time along with the movements of the drones. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified through repeated test simulations, including a benchmark function optimization and air pollutant search problems. The results show that the proposed method is highly practical, accurate, and robust.