Heterogeneous UAVs task allocation algorithm based on improved slime mold algorithm

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Journal of Dalian Maritime University ›› 2026, Vol. 52 ›› Issue (1) : 111-122.

LIU Wen¹，NA Zhenyu^*1,2，LI Mengyue¹, PANG Guimei¹，ZHANG Jinbo^2,3#br#
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Abstract

To address the task allocation problem of heterogeneous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in diverse mission scenarios, a task allocation algorithm for heterogeneous UAV swarms based on the improved slime mold algorithm (SMA) was proposed. Firstly, from the perspectives of task timeliness and performance parameters, and based on the existing multiparameter modeling framework, this paper further improved the parameter characterization of task diversity and UAV heterogeneity to better adapt to the multitype tasks and multiconstraint scenarios. Secondly, to address the problems of slow convergence speed and low solution accuracy of the SMA, optimization was carried out by introducing Tent chaotic mapping, linear dynamic search range, improved individual update mechanism and optimal neighborhood perturbation strategy. Finally, the improved SMA was integrated with the proposed task allocation model, and its effectiveness was verified by setting task scenarios with different scales. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve reasonable task allocation with minimal task cost under different scenario scales. Compared with benchmark methods, the proposed algorithm reduces the comprehensive objective function by at least 10.6% and 15.4% in two different task scales, respectively.

Key words

unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) / task allocation / slime mold algorithm (SMA) / Tent chaotic mapping strategy / optimal neighborhood perturbation strategy

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LIU Wen, NA Zhenyu, LI Mengyue, PANG Guimei, ZHANG Jinbo. Heterogeneous UAVs task allocation algorithm based on improved slime mold algorithm[J]. Journal of Dalian Maritime University. 2026, 52(1): 111-122

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