Hybrid control of multi-robot systems using embedded graph grammars

Abstract

We propose a distributed and cooperative motion and task control scheme for a team of mobile robots that are subject to dynamic constraints including inter-robot collision avoidance and connectivity maintenance of the communication network. Moreover, each agent has a local high-level task given as a Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) formula of desired motion and actions. Embedded graph grammars (EGGs) are used as the main tool to specify local interaction rules and switching control modes among the robots, which is then combined with the model-checking-based task planning module. It is ensured that all local tasks are satisfied while the dynamic constraints are obeyed at all time. The overall approach is demonstrated by simulation and experimental results.