A generic particle swarm optimization Matlab function

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is rapidly gaining popularity but an official implementation of the PSO algorithm in Matlab is yet to be released. In this paper, we present a generic particle swarm optimization Matlab function. The syntax necessary to interface the function is practically identical to that of existing Matlab functions such as fmincon and ga. We demonstrate our PSO function by means of two examples: the first example is an academic test problem; the second example is a simplified problem of optimizing the gear ratios in a hybrid electric drivetrain. The PSO function is available online.