Research on Multi-USV Cooperative Search Method

A pheromone-based multi-USV search method is proposed to search target USV in unknown environment. The search area is discretized into grid area. Then the motion model, collision type and communication mode of multi-USV system are analyzed. Then the update method of moving target point and target point set of USV is analyzed. The update method is to calculate the pheromone of each target point, and the maximum target point of pheromone is selected as the next moving target point of USV, so that USV can select and update moving target points dynamically and in real time. Then, the fitness function is established based on artificial potential field method. Finally, the simulation experiment of the proposed algorithm is carried out, and the simulation results show that the proposed search method is in two different search environments. At the same time, the proposed method is compared with traversal method and random method, the simulation results show that the proposed multi-USVs cooperative search method has high detection rate of target USV, and each USV can adjust its motion path in real time according to the detected environmental information.