Receding horizon control for cooperative search of multi‐UAVs based on differential evolution

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a hybrid method of intelligent optimization algorithm and Receding Horizon Control. The method is applied to solve the problem of cooperative search of multi‐unmanned aerial vehicles (multi‐UAVs). Design/methodology/approach The intelligent optimization of Differential Evolution (DE) makes the complex problem of multi‐UAVs cooperative search a regular function optimization problem. To meet the real‐time requirement, the idea of Receding Horizon Control is applied. An Extended Search Map based on hormone information is used to describe the uncertain environment information. Findings Simulation results indicate effectiveness of the hybrid method in solving the problem of cooperative search for multi‐UAVs. Originality/value The paper presents an interesting hybrid method of DE and Receding Horizon Control for the problem of cooperative multi‐UAVs.