Formation Control for a Network of Small-Scale Robots

초록

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.

키워드