Parallel Hybrid Metaheuristic on Shared Memory System for Real-Time UAV Path Planning

In this paper, we present a parallel hybrid metaheuristic that combines the strengths of the particle swarm optimization (PSO) and the genetic algorithm (GA) to produce an improved path-planner algorithm for fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The proposed solution uses a multi-objective cost function we developed and generates in real-time feasible and quasi-optimal trajectories in complex 3D environments. Our parallel hybrid algorithm simulates multiple GA populations and PSO swarms in parallel while allowing migration of solutions. This collaboration between the GA and the PSO leads to an algorithm that exhibits the strengths of both optimization methods and produces superior solutions. Moreover, by using the "single-program, multiple-data" parallel programming paradigm, we maximize the use of today's multicore CPU and significantly reduce the execution time of the parallel program compared to a sequential implementation. We observed a quasi-linear speedup of 10.7 times faster on a 12-core shared memory system resulting in an execution time of 5 s which allows in-flight planning. Finally, we show with statistical significance that our parallel hybrid algorithm produces superior trajectories to the parallel GA or the parallel PSO we previously developed.