A decentralized formation building algorithm with obstacle avoidance for multi-robot systems

Abstract

We consider the problem of formation building with obstacle avoidance for a group of mobile robots. We propose a biologically inspired decentralized motion coordination control algorithm so that the robots eventually move in a given geometric pattern from any initial position while avoiding the obstacles on their routes. The robots are described by the standard kinematics equations with hard constraints on their linear and angular velocities. Furthermore, there is no leader in the team and each robot applies the decentralized control algorithm using the consensus variables rule based on the local information. Moreover, an obstacle avoidance technique based on the information from the range sensors is used. The performance of the proposed control algorithm is confirmed with computer simulations.