Abstract: By combining an area coverage algorithm with a target recognition method based on dynamic template match-ing,this paper proposes an autonomous search strategy under unknown environments which enables mobile robots to fulfill target searching task in unstructured environments.Specifically,sonar and omni-directional camera are utilized as sensors to detect the surrounding environments,and a fuzzy logic algorithm is adopted for local path planning to achieve a thorough search over the concerned area.Simultaneously,an image processing algorithm referred to as dynamic template matching method is proposed to recognize the target and determine its position.The designed search strategy can start from any initial position,and it exhibits exceptional adaptabilities over unstructured environments.Experimental results are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed search algorithm.