Zhang, ChaoMa, JingWang, XinXu, JianweiGuo, Chuanchen2025-09-232025-09-232025-08-28Electronics, ISSN: 1450-5843 (Print); 2079-9292 (Online), MDPI AG, 14(17), 3440-3440. doi: 10.3390/electronics141734401450-58432079-9292http://hdl.handle.net/10292/19840Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) has been widely used in engineering implementation due to its simplicity and effectiveness. However, it often faces challenges such as slow convergence, susceptibility to local optima, and generating paths with excessive turning points. To address these limitations, this paper introduces a Novel Multi-Strategy Enhanced Ant Colony Optimization algorithm (NMS-EACO) for mobile robot path planning under nonholonomic constraints. NMS-EACO integrates five key strategies: an A*-guided heuristic function, an adaptive enhanced pheromone update rule, a state transition probability under nonholonomic constraints, a smoothing factor embedded in the state transition probability, and a global path smoothing technique. Comprehensive simulation experiments are conducted across six distinct map types, with comparisons made against six existing algorithms through extensive trials.Results demonstrate that NMS-EACO significantly improves convergence speed, enhances global search capability, and reduces path irregularities. These results validate the robustness and efficiency of the proposed multi-strategy method for nonholonomic mobile robot navigation.© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/40 Engineering4009 Electronics, Sensors and Digital Hardware0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering4009 Electronics, sensors and digital hardwareJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.3390/electronics14173440