A hybrid crossover kangaroo escape optimization framework for engineering optimization and UAV path planning

Abstract

Complex engineering optimization problems are often characterized by multimodality, high dimensionality, and nonlinear constraints, posing significant challenges for efficient and reliable computation. To address these challenges, this paper develops a hybrid crossover-based optimization framework that enhances population interaction and improves search efficiency. The proposed framework integrates two complementary mechanisms, namely a Levy long jump crossover strategy for global exploration and a horizontal-vertical crossover strategy for effective information exchange and local refinement, thereby improving convergence behavior and robustness. To support scalable computation, the method is implemented within a unified multi-backend computational framework based on FEALPy, enabling consistent and efficient execution across heterogeneous platforms, including NumPy and PyTorch on both CPU and GPU. This design enhances portability, reproducibility, and computational efficiency in large-scale optimization tasks. Extensive experiments on the IEEE CEC2022 benchmark suite demonstrate that the proposed framework achieves competitive or superior performance compared with several representative metaheuristic algorithms, as validated by Wilcoxon rank-sum and Friedman statistical tests. In addition, the method shows strong performance on constrained engineering design problems. Finally, the proposed framework is applied to UAV path planning, formulated as a constrained optimization problem, demonstrating its effectiveness and scalability in complex engineering scenarios.