Formation Control for a Network of Small-Scale Robots

Abstract

In this paper, a network of small-scale robots (typically centimeter-scale robots) equipped with artificial actuators such as electric motors is considered. The purpose of this network is to have the robots keep a certain formation shape (or change to another formation shape) during maneuvers. The network has a fixed communication topology in the sense that robots have a fixed group of neighbors to communicate during maneuvers. Assuming that each robot and its actuator can be modeled as a linear system, a decentralized control law (such that each robot activates its actuator based on the information from its neighbors only) is introduced to achieve the purpose of formation keeping or change. A linear matrix inequality (LMI) for deriving the upper bound on the actuator's time constant is also presented. Simulation results are shown to demonstrate the merit of the introduced control law.