A Cooperative Game Hybrid Optimization Algorithm Applied to UAV Inspection Path Planning in Urban Pipe Corridors

Abstract

This paper proposes an improved algorithm applied to path planning for the inspection of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in urban pipe corridors, which introduces a collaborative game between spherical vector particle swarm optimization (SPSO) and differential evolution (DE) algorithms. Firstly, a high-precision 3D grid map model of urban pipe corridors is constructed based on the actual urban situation. Secondly, the cost function is formulated, and the constraints for ensuring the safe and smooth inspection of UAVs are proposed to transform path planning into an optimization problem. Finally, a hybrid algorithm of SPSO and DE algorithms based on the Nash bargaining theory is proposed by introducing a cooperative game model for optimizing the cost function to plan the optimal path of UAV inspection in complex urban pipe corridors. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm (GSPSODE), the SPSO, DE, genetic algorithm (GA), and ant colony optimization (ACO) are compared with GSPSODE, and the results show that GSPSODE is superior to other methods in UAV inspection path planning. However, the selection of algorithm parameters, the difference in the experimental environment, and the randomness of experimental results may affect the accuracy of experimental results. In addition, a high-precision urban pipe corridors scenario is constructed based on the RflySim platform to dynamically simulate the optimal path planning of UAV inspection in real urban pipe corridors.