*Article* **Metaheuristic Optimization-Based Path Planning and Tracking of Quadcopter for Payload Hold-Release Mission**

**Egemen Belge, Aytaç Altan and Rıfat Hacıo ˘glu \***

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University, 67100 Zonguldak, Turkey; egemenbelge@beun.edu.tr (E.B.); aytacaltan@beun.edu.tr (A.A.)

**\*** Correspondence: hacirif@beun.edu.tr

**Abstract:** Under harsh geographical conditions where manned flight is not possible, the ability of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to successfully carry out the payload hold–release mission by avoiding obstacles depends on the optimal path planning and tracking performance of the UAV. The ability of the UAV to plan and track the path with minimum energy and time consumption is possible by using the flight parameters. This study performs the optimum path planning and tracking using Harris hawk optimization (HHO)–grey wolf optimization (GWO), a hybrid metaheuristic optimization algorithm, to enable the UAV to actualize the payload hold–release mission avoiding obstacles. In the study, the hybrid HHO–GWO algorithm, which stands out with its avoidance of local minima and speed convergence, is used to successfully obtain the feasible and effective path. In addition, the effect of the mass change uncertainty of the UAV on optimal path planning and tracking performance is determined. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is tested by comparing it with the metaheuristic swarm optimization algorithms such as particle swarm optimization (PSO) and GWO. The experimental results obtained indicate that the proposed algorithm generates a fast and safe optimal path without becoming stuck with local minima, and the quadcopter tracks the generated path with minimum energy and time consumption.

**Keywords:** path planning and tracking; metaheuristic optimization; quadcopter; payload hold– release system; obstacle avoidance
